Unlike his absurd predecessor, Douglas Ross, I have great respect for the new Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay.

He was an exemplary journalist. There’s an affinity between the work he did investigating organised crime and the work I’ve done investigating terrorism. We both suffered violence for simply doing our jobs and daring to report the truth. Findlay was the victim of an acid attack. I was kidnapped and put through a mock execution.

So when it comes to his past endeavours, I brim with praise. I cannot say the same for his current incarnation as the frontman of Scottish Conservatism.

Indeed, Findlay has made some inordinately daft comments since assuming his new role. Findlay was at the Tory Party conference - thankfully now over; an event which seemed modelled on that moment when a shudder of clowns (‘shudder' is the genuine collective noun in this instance) enter the circus ring of a Big Top.

While there, he proclaimed that the “independence dream is dead”. Is it, Russell? Is it really? I see only one corpse around these parts and it has the name ‘Conservative Party’ written on its morgue toe-tag.

Scottish Conservatives leader Russell Findlay during the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, September 2024. (Image: Jacob King/PA Wire)

I guess that - wearied by repetition - I best quote some numbers at this point. Independence still hovers somewhere around 45%. So not much has changed. Certainly, there’s been no gains. But independence has decoupled from a tired, ideas-free SNP. Its fortunes are no longer tied to a worn-out party of low-energy........

© Herald Scotland