CARLAW AXE WAS INEVITABLE – AND LEONARD IS NEXT

THE Conservative Party is ruthless when it comes to dealing with underperforming leaders.

Margaret Thatcher, Iain Duncan Smith and Theresa May were all dumped at various stages of their careers. A similar fate has befallen Jackson Carlaw, who was encouraged to resign as Scottish Tory leader after just five months in charge.

Labour follows a different tradition of clinging on to poor leaders. Michael Foot, Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn were allowed to contest general elections – despite it being obvious they were not of Labour voters either support independence or have an open mind. Nicola Sturgeon knows victory next time will be built on the backs of Labour sympathisers.

Leonard’s election results have been woeful – fifth at the EU elections, one seat won at the general election – but they are symptoms of a wider malaise.

But his inability to stand up to Corbyn’s team in London was an abject failure and his limited world view – based on a romantic attachment to Labour party history – is painful. His last original thought appears to have been more than 40 years ago – and he has no second gear.

New YouGov polling is brutal. Leonard has a net favourability of -28, with the figure at -14 among his own voters.

His colleagues at Holyrood know he has made little impression but do nothing. They know their party is headed for another defeat in May and the pro-independence side is on course for a majority – yet they remain silent.

The Scottish Tories stepped in when they realised their leader was dragging them down. Will Scottish Labour do likewise?