Henry McLeish: How can anyone vote for Tories who will block our right to decide Scotland's future?

History shows the Conservative party in Scotland achieving the highest ever share of the popular vote by any political party, 50.1 per cent, in 1955. Their darkest Westminster hour was in 1997 when they were wiped out in Scotland as Labour stormed to victory under Tony Blair.

Having been cursed by the Thatcher years, the “toxic” Tories continued to be marginalised and resented by Scots voters. The rise and fall of the Conservatives in Scotland is captured by the fact that in the last 60 years to 2015, the Tories have seen their share of the popular vote in Scotland fall from 50 percent to 15 per cent, while the SNP has risen from 0.5 per cent to 50 per cent!

The roots of Tory Unionism run deep. It was only in 1965 that Unionism was dumped from the official title of the Tories in Scotland. Are we seeing a revival of conservatism or Unionism or a rejection of the progress Scotland has made in the last 20 years?

More likely, the Tory success is the result of a Scotland immersed in populism, destiny, and identity as the driving forces of Scottish politics and relegating class, policy issues, and left/right struggles, at least for now, to the margins.

Brexit, independence, and the constitutional mess the Tories have created, are overwhelming people, to the extent that nothing else matters. The progressive parties, Labour, the LibDems and Greens, are being squeezed.

Leave voters, nearly a million of them, are abandoning traditional loyalties and seeking clarity and certainty about getting out of the EU: no membership of single market or customs union and clarity on immigration and no compromises.

Unionists, meanwhile, are seeking a clear and unambiguous leadership position on staying in the UK: no nuanced approach, no federalism!

Electors concerned about an early independence referendum amidst this Brexit chaos are scunnered by more politics, elections and uncertainty and just wonder where and when this is all going to end; for many, determining the destiny of Scotland has no end in sight.

Scots supporting independence will defend the position, so boldly stated in 2014.

There is a constitutional dimension to this election but we shouldn’t forget the economic, social and political mess the Tories have got Britain into and the chaos of Brexit, a catastrophe in the making, which will become a byword for self-inflicted harm and the wrecking of our economy. Scottish Tories seem to take no responsibility for the state of Britain and believe devolved responsibilities allow them to show how different they are and hide from Tory excesses at Westminster. How long can this split personality evade scrutiny?

So, what would be the point of voting Tory in Scotland? The Tory party hurts working people and always betrays their economic interests. The Tories are running on empty. Theresa May is not up to the job. Hillary Clinton was also supposed to be a “shoo-in”.

The Tories have no record to defend and no vision to offer. Britain is being run for the benefit of the Tory party and not the country. They are still the party of austerity, inequality and at Westminster they remain in the grip of the fanatical and the delusional whose cheap patriotism could set Britain back decades. They lied during Brexit and are still lying to the electors.

What is the matter with Britain? Why do we see decline and call it progress? Why do progressives find it so hard to make a case against this collective insanity masquerading as a political party?

This election is polarising opinions, deepening already bitter divisions and seeking simple voter verdicts on what are massively complex issues. Unlike any other General Election in post-war Britain, Scotland has become the battle ground for populism, identity, and constitutionalism, where emotions and anger are cutting across any notions of reason, compromise or tolerance. Politics, previously the art of the possible, has currently no decisive or sustainable answers to the challenges of Europe, Britain, or Scotland. Nationality and identity are complex and little understood but are overwhelming our public discourse.

Another part of the Tory revival in Scotland is about coming home.

The first SNP minority government in 2007 was heavily supported by Tory voters, in traditionally conservative seats, anxious to see the end of Labour and LibDem coalitions. Mission accomplished, this has now allowed many Tory voters, who were never nationalists or supporters of independence or indeed devolution, to revert to type.

Volatility, anger, and insecurity are shaping this election.

There is little doubt that Ruth Davidson’s more playful and colourful populism, personal charisma, strident Unionism and her successful assault on both Labour and the SNP in the local elections and the Holyrood elections, have revitalised a tired, poorly organised and out of touch conservative party in Scotland.

But what is likely to happen next? Clearly emboldened by the Tory advance in Scotland Theresa May should nevertheless be cautious about her next steps. The Scotland question, handled badly, could pose the biggest threat to the Scottish Tory leader and reignite the flames of independence.

SCOTLAND is likely to have a few more Tories, but if the polls are accurate, the SNP, despite a loss of momentum and focus, will, by a political mile, have more seats and votes than anyone else. What happens after this election will be far more important.

The PM’s “strong and stable” approach, which is now being brutally exposed for what it really is, should not ignore the volatility of Scottish electors, the grip of identity politics and the unpredictable public mood in Western democracies. For Scottish Tories there is a danger that any vote for conservatism in Scotland will be misconstrued by Theresa May. The PM’s tactics could become a high-risk strategy. There is a “scary” side to the PM’s style of governing. She is an autocrat struggling to create an identity and impose her version of conservatism.

Theresa May is treating democracy with contempt. Maybe that’s all she needs to do to win, so stay low and say little. But this is now unravelling. Labour’s popular manifesto and her own failings have helped destroy the myth of invincibility the PM has so doggedly tried to cultivate.

Scots voting Conservative this time should be careful what they wish for. The PM’s conversion to help the “just about managing” has been wrecked by her decision to stop 900,000 families getting free school meals, and her catastrophic handling of social care has diminished her credibility even further.

The PM is populist and authoritarian and to hijack a phrase of Lord Hailsham, an elected dictator. The PM’s inclusion in her UK manifesto of a “public consent” clause for any future referendum in Scotland is both sinister and dangerous and deserves more scrutiny. The Tories believe that, “in order for a referendum to be fair, legal and decisive, it cannot take place until the Brexit process has played out and it should not take place unless there is public consent for it to happen”.

Similar conditions were not applied to her own party’s disastrous European referendum. Theresa May is abusing our politics.

Her UK manifesto is a direct assault on the very idea or spirit of devolution or four nation politics and a threat to democracy itself. This is a triple lock of the worst conceivable kind: waiting until the conclusion of Brexit, whenever that might be, then, “public consent”, however that is defined and who decides, and then the referendum. This makes Thatcher’s contempt of Scotland seem insignificant. Does Scotland require a referendum to decide if we can have a referendum to decide Scotland’s future in a referendum?

The PM’s brand of authoritarian conservatism, increasing isolationism and economic nationalism, could quickly sour the views of a majority of Scots: this is where hard Brexit could become a nightmare for the PM and for her Scottish leader.

And now, a “public consent” clause reintroducing Westminster control without any idea of how this might work. Ruth Davidson must decide where her loyalties lie.

Will Scottish Tories at Westminster be a voice for Scotland?

Scottish Conservatives have an absolute right to oppose the idea of a referendum and to vote against independence. But to prevent, frustrate or deny Scotland having that vote, is an insult to our democracy and confirmation that Scots and Scotland lack real power. The PM’s response to the anticipated Tory victory in the UK could determine the future of Scotland.

Margaret Thatcher shaped Scotland’s negative view of conservatism for nearly a generation, and still does. A few Tory seats gained north of the Border may influence that mindset. For the first time in 20 years Scottish Tories may become part of a Westminster group, so how will they speak up for Scotland?

If Theresa May misinterprets what is going on in the flush of an English based landslide victory, which seems increasingly unlikely, the PM could accelerate the break-up of the Union. Where does the Scottish Tory party leader stand on the right of Scotland to determine its own future and how does she define what is “public consent”?

We will soon find out.