What’s wrong with the 12 new Scottish Tory MPs?

Although the snap election result was disappointing for the Conservative party as a whole, there was reason for celebration north of the border. Ruth Davidson led the Scottish Conservatives to unprecedented success, with 13 MPs elected in total.

Now that David Mundell is no longer the Tories’ only MP in Scotland, the Secretary of State for Scotland is finally spared the embarrassment of not being able to fully staff his office. So, which of the new intake of Scottish Conservative MPs will fill the vacant ministerial post in the Scotland Office? None of them, it so turns out.

Apparently not one of the 12 pass the test. Instead, Ian Duncan – the Scottish MEP – is being lined up to take the role thanks to his experience of Brussels. As Duncan narrowly missed out on a seat in the snap election (losing to the SNP’s Pete Wishart), he is not eligible to be a minister. This means the Conservatives would have to first make him a peer and then appoint him to the role. Giving a member of the House of Lords a ministerial post isn’t unusual, but it is unusual to make a candidate who has just been rejected at the ballot box an unelected peer in order to do so.

Unsurprisingly, Duncan thinks he is the right pick for the job. On Monday he told the BBC that his appointment would mean the ‘best experience is available to the Government’ during the Brexit talks (though it’s worth noting in that same interview he suggested ‘taking off your trousers‘ is one negotiating strategy).

Experience or not, Duncan’s appointment has the whiff of a stitch-up. After years in the cold in Scotland, the Conservatives are finally making significant inroads. When I was growing up in East Lothian, the word Tory was a dirty word – but this is beginning to change thanks to Ruth Davidson. She has achieved this impressive feat by dispelling many preconceptions about the Tory party. Namely, that it is not an old boys’ club. Giving a rejected Tory candidate a peerage just after they lost an election only gives opponents reason to say that it is. Instead, they ought to have taken a chance on one of the 12 MPs who defied the odds and actually won their seat. Once again, Theresa May has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.