You can’t fault the Conservatives for optimism, but they face big challenges
SIMILAR to the rest of us, the Conservative Party has had a rough year, lurching from one catastrophe to another.
While The Scottish Tories only faced minor turbulence, the UK party, and its leader, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have had a particularly difficult time.
What started as a year of optimism for Mr Johnson, with a tweet on January 2 saying 2020 “is going to be a fantastic year for Britain”, has ended in anxiety as we near December 31.
Before coming to that, let’s start with the pre-covid Conservatives. A new prime minister, an “oven-ready” Brexit deal... what could go wrong?
In Scotland, the Tories were busy electing a new leader after Ruth Davidson resigned. Jackson Carlaw, the eventual winner, was fighting it out with Michelle Ballantyne before claiming the short-lived title in February.
In Westminster the Government was pressing on with plans to reform the immigration system.
The Budget in February saw Rishi Sunak take the helm as Chancellor for the first time. His predecessor Sajid Javid quit after being told he had to sack all of his advisers to stay on. His well-known feuds with Dominic Cummings had come to a head, with Mr Cummings winning the battle.
By March virus panic was in full-swing, yet the Prime Minister was undeterred – even boasting he was visiting hospitals and shaking hands with Covid-positive patients. By the end of the month, the PM himself had caught the disease and was self-isolating.
Despite assurances from Downing Street that Mr Johnson was “in good spirits” working from home, the PM’S condition was clearly deteriorating, and he was taken into hospital on April 9, spending three days in intensive care.
Before he was discharged in May, the country was being led by “designated survivor” and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.
The same month, two newspapers broke the story of the Dominic Cummings scandal, which has plagued the Conservatives since. The PM’S most senior aide drove to Durham and then took a day trip to Barnard Castle, while suffering symptoms of Covid.
A bizarre press conference took place with the aide in May in the Downing Street rose garden and despite widespread calls for his sacking he clung on to his job.
His actions had ramifications in Scotland, however, when Douglas Ross, MP and junior Scotland Office minister, quit his government role, saying he was unable to justify the actions of the aide.
What was described by some Tories as a strange decision was widely applauded by others. Members of the public praised Mr Ross for showing “backbone” where the PM had not.
In July, Scottish Conservative leader Mr Carlaw announced a shock resignation, just days after Mr Johnson had visited Scotland.
The Herald understands from several highly placed Conservative sources that Mr Ross was phoning party members “within 15 minutes” of Mr Carlaw’s resignation, asking for their backing as the next Scottish party leader.
Uncontested, Mr Ross was elected to lead his Scottish colleagues in August. He will stand in the Holyrood elections and, if all goes to plan, will leave Westminster for Edinburgh next May.
Having contested Mr Carlaw for leadership in January, Michelle Ballantyne announced she was quitting the Scottish Conservatives in November.
In a statement, she said she had come to her decision in the wake of Mr Ross’s party conference speech in which he berated Westminster colleagues for neglecting the Union.
Mr Ross has been anything but shy since taking up the role, memorably saying the case for Scottish independence was being made more successfully in Westminster than in Scotland.
He was quick to disagree with the Prime Minister’s view that devolution was a “disaster” and Tony Blair’s “biggest mistake”. He has supported free university tuition and increased benefit payments – something that has not gone down well with all of his party colleagues.
On Brexit, the Government used a legal tactic in an attempt to push the European Union to agree to a deal.
The UK Internal Market Bill could have broken international law by allowing an amendment to the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU around checks on goods flowing between GB and Northern Ireland.
After discussions, the law-breaking clauses were removed, but devolved governments are still resistant to the bill, which they say snatches power from them.
While Mr Cummings managed to stay under the radar for a few months towards the end of the year, he reared his head again this month. The adviser and his Vote Leave ally, No.10 head of communications Lee Cain, quit their jobs after a row over Mr Cain’s rumoured promotion to chief of staff.
In a sombre mood, Mr Johnson told the nation on December 19 that Christmas was effectively cancelled after imposing new Covid-19 restrictions, but five days later he was back in buoyant mood when he announced a Brexit deal had been sealed.
The problems over European trade may have been resolved, but the Holyrood elections in 2021 will continue to provide challenges for the Conservatives north and south of the Border.