Tory tailspin is all of their own doing

THE Tories have no one to blame but themselves for a slew of self-inflicted wounds.

But sometimes it takes someone from within the party to really hammer home the problems.

In Edinburgh, councillor Ashley Graczyk has had enough.

A year after being elected, she decided the party she stood for are wrong in their approach to disabilities and social justice.

It’s an awakening that many people were confronted with a long time ago.

Graczyk quit and will sit as an independent in the capital city council.

While she clearly didn’t feel at home, other councillors are busy making a mess on their own doorstep.

Step forward Todd Ferguson – the councillor who never really means to cause offence, but does.

The fallout from his social media targeting of an SNP council colleague, who happens to be Dutch, continues to cause problems.

Scots Tory leader Ruth Davidson must be exasperated at how many times she is asked to apologise on behalf of someone in her ranks.

She is in an odd place – a moderniser who wants to portray a kinder, rejuvinated party while battling to turn down the background noise doing so much damage.

And while she’s at it, her colleagues in the UK Government are making life harder.

Esther McVey, the Work and Pensions Secretary, had to apologise at the Commons.

She “inadvertently” misled MPs about an audit report on Universal Credit.

Strangely, she said the report called for the benefit reform to speed up. It did no such thing.

McVey had to be pushed into accepting blame by the head of the National Audit Office himself.

The Tories are getting a lot of those thrown at them these days. And judging by the number of apologies, they’re starting to stick.