Heat is on for Davidson as sidelined Scottish Tories go into meltdown

While we may have collectively sweated, grumbled and watched the unfolding political drama with a mixture of fear and anger, nobody has had a worse week that Ruth Davidson.

There are few who will feel sympathy for the self-styled fresh face of the modern Tories – and lord knows, I don’t – but it’s been a bruiser.

After backing Sajid Javid, Michael Gove (below), Jeremy Hunt – the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker – to become Tory leader over Boris Johnson, her old sparring partner still took home the prize.

In recent years, Ruth Davidson’s supposed “influence” over the Tory bigwigs has been overhyped to the point of farce. There has never been any evidence to show that she holds sway with London HQ, but that hasn’t stopped the breathless commentary constantly telling us she does.

She is a big personality and – as we are so often reminded – “not afraid to tell it like it is”. That’s all well and good for Ruth Davidson and the UK media types who are so enamoured with her, but this week should have proved beyond all doubt that she is simply howling in the wind.

The fate of the beleaguered David Mundell (below) lay in the sweaty palms of Boris Johnson. He must have known he was in a precarious position, given he spent so much time during the leadership contest furiously back-pedalling on his previous criticism of the odds-on favourite.

Ruth “Kiss of Death” Davidson sealed David Mundell’s fate when she intervened on his behalf and tried to save his job. Some commentators seemed surprised that Boris Johnson ignored her advice and sacked him anyway, but they really shouldn’t have been.

Brexit has shown that the Scottish Tories are adrift from their Westminster counterparts. That includes the 13 Scottish Tory MPs who – far from being a solid block fighting for Scotland’s interests – have splintered off into the various factions that make up our party of government. She lost control over them long ago, and with every passing vote and Scottish Tory that breaks cover to suggest that “no deal won’t be so bad, actually”, her influence is eroded even further.

The new Scottish Secretary Alister Jack is a man that few had heard of before his promotion. The millionaire businessman is now Johnson’s voice in Scotland. But some Tories worry that his wealthy background and relative anonymity among the Scottish public will make it difficult for him to sell the benefits of the rapidly disintegrating Union.

In comments made after his appointment he suggested that while there would be “some bumps along the way”, the UK leaving the EU without a deal would not be “seriously damaging”. I wonder how palatable that message will be to the majority of the Scottish public who are not cushioned against economic uncertainty by privilege and riches.

With the possibility of an early General Election looming large, the Scottish Tories must be feeling despondent about their chances. Their consistent messaging on opposing a second independence referendum may have bolstered their numbers in 2017, but as we teeter on the edge of a no-deal exit from the EU, that may as well have been a lifetime ago.

READ MORE: Johnson’s Cabinet charm offensive in Scotland looks more like mission impossible

THERE are rumours swirling that the Scottish Tories could split and form an independent party over their anger at being sidelined. Delicious irony aside, it isn’t likely. To do so would require organisation, leadership and a clear policy platform. Given the state the party is in, it is supremely optimistic to believe they could conjure all that up in time to save themselves from electoral oblivion.

It’s far more likely that they will carry on as they are – fractured, rudderless and increasingly disgruntled with their London colleagues. Ruth Davidson has a mammoth task on her hands in reconciling her vocal concerns about Boris Johnson with the reality that he is now our Prime Minister. Davidson will be hoping that Nicola Sturgeon ramps up the preparations for indyref2. That would offer Davidson an opportunity to deflect from her party’s failings with yet more “no to indyref2’’ soundbites.

READ MORE: Brexit: Sturgeon and Johnson clash over no-deal in first phone call

This avoidance and deflection strategy has proved successful for Davidson in the past, but time is fast running out. Boris Johnson has appointed a cabinet ready for battle – not one you would assemble if your intention was long-term good governance. He has given us the clearest sign yet that he might be about to keep a promise for the first time in his life and take the UK out of the EU on October 31, deal or no deal.

To do so will require unconstitutional trickery and a steadfast refusal to be blown off course by the warnings of heads of devolved governments, business or experts.

This might have been a bad week for Ruth Davidson and the Scottish Tories, but it’s about to get a whole lot worse. With such a reckless ideologue leading their party, they will soon discover how inconsequential they really are.