THE Tories have a well deserved reputation as the Nasty Party and, as they stare at electoral devastation in the face, they appear to have decided that the reason they are so unpopular is because they are not being unpleasant enough.
The Conservatives are the political equivalent of that bullying kid at school who courts popularity by throwing rocks at a dug.
Let's begin with Scotland's very own Mr Nasty Tory: Douglas Ross. During his tenure as Scottish Conservative leader there has been a noticeable increase in boorish and hectoring interruptions from the Tory benches during First Minister's Questions, very often led by Ross himself, who is clearly determined to bring Holyrood down to the adolescent barracking so characteristic of that House of Commons which is his spiritual home.
Just a day before nominations for the General Election close, three-jobs Ross has shown Scotland just how nasty he really is. Despite claiming that he had no intention of standing for Westminster as he was focused on his job as an MSP and leader of the Tory group at Holyrood – at least that is when he's not focused on his job as a football linesman – Ross has changed his mind.
He is going to stand for Westminster after all, in the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat which was set to be contested by David Duguid – who has suddenly been deselected.
Duguid had expressed his determination to stand again as Scotland really needs his services as a no-mark, mediocre Tory MP. However, he is currently in hospital battling a serious illness. His colleagues have stabbed him in the back, the front, and the sides.
Not even the Tories can trust the Tories.
Ross claims the decision to drop Duguid as a candidate was made by an independent Scottish Conservative management board, a board so independent that Ross sits on it. But then, Ross knows a thing or two about Scottish Tory stitch ups.
He only got the gig as Scottish Tory leader after the previous incumbent, Jackson Carlaw, who had been elected by the membership, was ousted in a putsch organised by Ruth Davidson.
The Tories don't respect Scottish democracy, but then they don't respect their own internal party democracy either.
READ MORE: Richard Murphy: This one question should dominate the General Election in Scotlan
It's a shabby and sordid move by Ross. But then, Duguid may well be bumped up to the House of Lords in Rishi Sunak's resignation honours list.
However, this nasty and scummy little episode tells us all exactly who Ross is, both as a politician and as a human being. This decision is most likely not unrelated to the fact that Ross had a wafer thin majority of just 513 in his Moray seat whereas Duguid's majority is a rather more comfortable 4118.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes decried Ross's underhand manoeuvre, saying: "To quote one of Douglas Ross’s own colleagues, ‘this is straight out of the Farage playbook’ and I do not think it portrays the Conservatives in any decent light."
Here's hoping that as they cast their ballot, the voters of Aberdeenshire North and Moray East consider the character of the man who seeks to become their Conservative MP.
If Ross is prepared to do the dirty on one of his own colleagues as he lies in a hospital bed recovering from a serious illness, he'd certainly be prepared to sell out the people of Aberdeenshire North and Moray East if they are foolish enough to vote for him.
But it's not just a Tory problem
However it's not just the Conservative party which stands accused of undemocratic and underhand candidate selections, with favoured candidates being imposed on local constituency associations by the party HQ. Labour also has questions to answer in that regard.
The imposition of Starmer yes-man Michael Shanks as the Labour candidate for the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency was mired in controversy and dispute, but now Fife councillor Julie MacDougall has quit the Labour party, citing the "autocratic" imposition of candidates by the leadership which she said was "blocking good local people" from standing in the General Election.
Keir Starmer has closely controlled Labour selections at the General Election
MacDougall, who now sits as an independent, had hoped to stand for Labour in the General Election in the Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy constituency after the previous candidate, Wilma Brown was deselected following reports in The National on her "racist" social media activity.
Brown was replaced by Melanie Ward, who lives in London, and who has no known connections with Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy.
Announcing her resignation from the party MacDougall said: “It is no secret that candidates are being imposed on members and constituents in a non-democratic, autocratic manner which I simply cannot support, blocking good local people from being considered for future elections as potential candidates.”
READ MORE: Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething loses vote of no confidence
Meanwhile in Wales, newly selected Labour First Minister of Wales Vaughan Gething has lost a vote of no confidence in the Senedd.
Gething was elected as leader by Labour following the resignation of the previous incumbent Mark Drakeford.
At the time Anas Sarwar justified his refusal not to call for elections in Wales while loudly demanding elections in Scotland when Humza Yousaf stood down on the grounds that the Labour-led minority government in Wales was "stable".
It's not looking so stable today is it?
Will BBC Scotland now be pressing Sarwar on whether he thinks there should be an election in Wales? Answers on a postcard to Call Kaye.
This piece is an extract from today’s REAL Scottish Politics newsletter, which is emailed out at 7pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from the Wee Ginger Dug.
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