IT’S that time of year again … time to look back on the events of the past 12 months and judge their relative importance.
Today I’m looking back on those who deserve no praise or plaudits, those who have made our lives worse little and not so little ways.
LORD FROST
THE aptly named chief Brexit negotiator for the UK succeeded mainly in freezing the EU’s attitude to the UK by steadfastly refusing to negotiate. For months it was his way or the highway … and his European counterparts increasingly showed they believed the latter was the better option.
As time passed the more intransigent Frost became, reaching rock bottom when he tried to renegotiate the Northern Ireland protocol – a deal which Britain had signed up to in January – because he didn’t like the way it was working. Now he’s walked away from the job, leaving the Brexit talks in the hands of Liz Truss. God help us.
ALISTER JACK
THE hapless Scottish Secretary has never knowingly stood up for Scotland whenever it came under attack from his boss, which was pretty much all the time.
Unbelievably he describes the Prime Minister as a “man of optimism and vision”, possibly a dangerous statement given Johnson’s likely limited shelf life. Most Scots believe Johnson’s stand against indyref2 is profoundly undemocratic but not Jack. There are virtually no circumstances which he believes would justify another vote on the independence question. Not now, not in 2023, not in the foreseeable future, not ever.
You might point out that the SNP cleaned up at the last Scottish election while his party has as much chance of gaining power at Holyrood as Boris Johnson has of still being Prime Minister this time next year.
DOUGLAS ROSS
FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon has managed to maintain civil relationships with most of her political opponents. It wasn’t that long ago that she was inviting then Labour leader Kezia Dugdale and even former Tory leader Ruth Davidson over to her office to watch Andy Murray play at Wimbledon.
It’s impossible to imagine that same generosity being displayed for the Scottish Tories’ current leader Douglas Ross.
The First Minister finds it impossible to hide her disdain for the man who holds down no less than three jobs but can’t remember to declare three incomes.
She has lambasted him for being on the phone in parliament, clammed his “breathtaking immaturity and irresponsibility” on measures to restrict the spread of Covid and described him at Holyrood as a “charmer”. There was no chance of any onlooker missing the irony.
CRESSIDA ROSE DICK
THE Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis has had a lot of bad days since 2017 but her performance has been astounding in recent weeks.
When questioned on whether the force would investigate allegations of lockdown parties at Downing Street and Tory HQ she gave a masterclass in evasion.
The most she would promise that she would read any letter she received complaining about the parties. Now the force has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct after suggestions it was “aiding and abetting a criminal offence”.
MURDO FRASER
THE Scottish Tory MSP has a record of unwise utterances but took the proverbial biscuit this year when he urged listeners to a local radio station in Manchester to ignore the Scottish Government’s travel restrictions and come here just as Covid cases were rising.
His comments were described as deeply unhelpful by Stephen Reicher, a member of the Sage subcommittee advising the UK Government on its pandemic response.
NEIL OLIVER
WHERE to start with the television presenter’s comments about Scotland – and Covid – this year.
Back in May he expressed his unhappiness with independence supporters’ attitudes to Britain when he said: “More and more we dare to patronise the place, treat the person like a doddery old soul who cannot cope alone, who might even need to be taken into care.
“To me, the truth is altogether different. This place, these islands have taken care of us since a time beyond the reach of memory. Treated properly, they will continue to do so.”
Matters deteriorated when he described lockdown as a massive mistake and vowed never to comply with another one. Thankfully he’s no longer president of the National Trust for Scotland.
PRITI PATEL
THE home secretary has been one of the UK Government’s worst performers in a packed field. She has outdone herself with the Nationality and Borders Bill which, among other dreadful powers, could deprive a person UK citizenship without notice.
She also faces possible court action over a Brexit rule change that could strip two million EU citizens living in Britain of their right to remain in the country. Patel is so bad that many are reluctant to back the removal of Johnson because Patel would be one of the front runners to replace him.
LIZ TRUSS
AND talking of another contender for Number 10 should it become vacant any time soon. Truss is stepping into the Brexit breach now that Lord Frost has stepped down as chief negotiator, which is a poisoned chalice if ever there was one.
She’s already given notice of how she’ll tackle the job by telling the European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic during their first phone call that she is ready to scrap the whole Brexit deal by invoking Article 16 if there was not agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol. Onlookers have interpreted her hard line approach as paving the way for a Tory party leadership bid.
JACOB REES-MOGG
NEWLY cleared of sleaze allegations by the Standards commissioner, the archetypal Tory will certainly come out fighting.
He’s not exactly a fan of the new Covid restrictions introduced by his own government, saying it is time to trust the people to behave responsibly rather than the scientists who want stricter rules.
Rees-Mogg thought he had got one over on the SNP during a parliamentary discussion on the English obsession on its success in the 1966 World Cup. He added: “What I would say to [SNP Pete Wishart] when he complains about references to 1966 is pots and kettles because we often hear from the SNP about 1314.” He said that 1966 “is a little bit more recent history than 1314”, the date of the Battle of Bannockburn. Rees-Mogg was left red-faced when SNP MP Gavin Newlands revealed that the the last person to mention 1314 in the Commons was … Jacob Rees-Mogg.
ALEX COLE-HAMILTON
BEFORE he became the new leader of the LibDems in Scotland, Cole-Halton tarnished his reputation by being caught swearing at a female minister during a video call.
The Edinburgh Western MSP was caught on camera mouthing swear words at Children’s Minister Maree Todd during a parliamentary committee. He then faced criticism for appearing to blame Todd for provoking the outburst. He later apologised.
DOMINIC CUMMINGS
IT’S difficult to decide if Dominic Cummings was a fool or on the side of the good guys when he lifted the curtains on the shenanigans going on in Downing Street while he was chief adviser. What tips it for me is the revelation that he considered trying to oust Boris Johnson and decided against it. Now there are suggestions he might team up with Lord Frost to have another go.
BORIS JOHNSON
BREXIT, exports slump, economic carnage, COP26 embarrassment, Peppa Pig, parties, denials of parties, sleaze, more sleaze, denial of sleaze … need I go on? Surely his time must at last be running out?
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