Lords saga leaves sour taste in mouth

The revelation that Ian Duncan MEP will take a place in the Scotland Office via a seat in the House of Lords was met with predictable outrage by opponents. Mr Duncan – Lord Duncan of Springbank, as he will become – was the narrowly defeated opponent of Perth and North Perthshire MP Pete Wishart in the recent general election.

Why then, claim those against his forthcoming appointment, should he have a seat at the top Scottish table when he has been rejected by the electorate?

If it is just a question of who performed at the ballot box, they have a point.

However, Mr Duncan performed well in a particularly bruising campaign and Mr Wishart won by only 21 votes. His majority had previously been more than 9,500.

Had the swing been 11 votes the other way, his appointment as David Mundell’s deputy would not have been questioned – it may even have been welcomed.

His knowledge of Europe, especially, far outweighs that of elected colleagues and could prove vital as the Government seeks to extricate the country from the EU.

It may be that the noses of 12 elected Scottish Conservatives are out of joint but that matters little when getting the right people for the job of government – if they prove themselves, they will also eventually rise to the top.

Mr Duncan’s elevation may have the whiff of a fix but if the right man is in the job, should that matter?