Former MSP says Scottish Tories must "think hard" about association with Boris Johnson's Conservative Party

The rift between the Scottish Conservatives and Boris Johnson’s Westminster government has deepened, with former MSP Adam Tomkins saying the party must “think really hard” about its association with its southern counterparts.

Last week, Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross called for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to stand down, saying his position is no longer tenable.

In an interview with STV’s Scotland Tonight, the Scottish Conservative leader said there is great unrest in the Tories over the “bring your own booze” party in Downing Street at the height of the first lockdown.

Ross’ calls for Johnson’s resignation prompted the Leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, to attack the Moray MP and Highlands and Islands list MSP, dismissing him as “a lightweight” compared to Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack.

Now, speaking to BBC Scotland yesterday, former Glasgow region MSP Adam Tomkins said the Scottish Conservatives may need to reconsider their association with the UK Conservatives.

On the BBC’s Sunday Show, presenter Martin Geissler asked Tomkins: "If he [Boris Johnson] survives this, doesn't Douglas Ross have to go? Let's say that for whatever reason there's an election next year, Douglas Ross can't possibly say 'Vote Conservative, we're a party that's led by somebody who I think is not fit for government'?"

Tomkins replied: "I think that's right. I agree with that analysis very much.... If Boris Johnson doesn't go, then Douglas and the 31 Conservative MSPs in Holyrood have to think really hard about what kind of relationship or what kind of association, if any, they want to continue to have with a UK Conservative Party led by Boris Johnson."

Polling this weekend has also shown an overwhelming majority of people in Scotland think Boris Johnson should resign. Polling by Opinium and YouGov both show around two-thirds of people across the UK think Boris Johnson should resign (63% and 67% respectively), and both polls show eight in ten people in Scotland (80%) think he should quit.

The SNP has been quick to jump on the disquiet in the Tory ranks, with SNP MP Drew Hendry commenting: "It's clear that Boris Johnson and Douglas Ross can't both remain in post with any credibility.

"The situation is ludicrous and completely unsustainable. It would be absurd for Mr Ross to fight a general election, or an independence referendum, beneath a Prime Minister he has openly admitted is unfit for office and should resign.

"And, with senior Tory Cabinet ministers dismissing Mr Ross as a 'lightweight' nobody, whose views they simply brush aside and ignore, how can anyone in Scotland take anything they say seriously?

"If Boris Johnson doesn't resign there will inevitably be questions over Mr Ross's own position and how he could possibly limp on without any credibility.

"As Westminster descends further into corruption, chaos and Tory civil war, people in Scotland are looking on in horror. The only meaningful solution is for Scotland to become an independent country, so we can escape the broken Westminster system for good."