The Problem? He’s Boris’s Brexit bruiser

HE might be the mastermind of Boris Johnson’s strategy, but there is no love lost for Dominic Cummings within the Scottish Conservatives. Despite Scotland being a key battleground in the December general election campaign, Mr Cummings never set foot north of the Border.

Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw has never met him, and the perception many have in the party is that he has no real interest in Scotland.

Many in the party feel the issue of Brexit got him his job – and remains his only genuine political passion.

So while his general election message, focused entirely on the desire to ‘get Brexit done’, helped the Tories sweep up votes in England and give his boss a thumping victory, it was considerably watered down and softened in Scotland.

Some moderate Scottish Tories have been reluctant to embrace brand Boris but have accepted they must get behind him as prime minister. They have been considerably less willing to embrace his Brexiteer top aide.

It is, therefore, no surprise that the knives were out for Mr Cummings from across sections of the party in Scotland. Nobody really doubted Jackson Carlaw’s view – he was said to be ‘desperate’ for him to apologise and quit.

However, Mr Carlaw was reluctant. Despite being no cheerleader for Mr Johnson, he has been desperate to strike up a positive working relationship with him. He has pledged to speak up on matters affecting Scotland – but telling him what to do about one of his own top aides did not fit into that category. As a result, he issued a statement on Sunday which was widely derided by opponents and those within his party.

The statement said: ‘[Mr Johnson] has reached a conclusion and we must all now focus on continuing to beat this dreadful pandemic. I want the Prime Minister to be able to continue his excellent work leading the country out of lockdown.’

The statement infuriated some within Mr Carlaw’s party, with some senior figures believing this was evidence he will never stand up to those in Downing Street. He had called for Dr Catherine Calderwood to quit as Scotland’s chief medical officer when she twice broke lockdown rules by travelling from her Edinburgh property to a holiday home in Fife.

They wanted a similarly strong message. They wanted him to speak on their behalf, as they felt his predecessor, Ruth Davidson, would have. ‘Ruth might have been braver,’ said one source.

Another told the Spectator magazine that MSPs are in ‘despair’, and claimed his only interest is ‘not rocking the boat with London so he can collect a knighthood’.

It led to a fiery meeting on Zoom on Monday, when Mr Carlaw told his MSPs that they should say things to him directly if they have a concern, rather than anonymous briefings to the Press. He also told them he was ‘disappointed’ by messages on private WhatsApp groups being leaked to the media.

As part of the clear-the-air talks, Mr Carlaw told his colleagues that they can make their views on Mr Cummings known, as long as they respect that it is the Prime Minister’s decision.

First to make those views known was Scotland Office Minister Douglas Ross, who informed Mr Carlaw on Monday evening that he had decided to quit. Yesterday morning – having now heard Mr Cummings’s account, Mr Carlaw informed Mr Johnson’s senior advisers that he now intended to call for him to go.