THE Scottish Tories are feeling chipper this week after winning four local government by-elections caused by a slate of councillors being elected to Westminster. The party took council seats across the northeast in Fraserburgh, Buchan, Elgin City and Mearns.

Because by-elections in multi-member wards strongly favour the locally dominant party, SNP vacancies were always likely to be taken by the Tories – who’re out in front in terms of first preferences in three of these four wards – but them’s the rules, and a win’s a win. Their new leader Russell Findlay has decided to feel encouraged.

Findlay’s working slogan – “common sense, for a change” – deserves ­grudging credit both for its pithiness and its ­cynicism. In just five words, you have the emotional heart of what appears to be ­Findlay’s main argument. Politics is ­broken. I’m not a ­politician. I’m not ideological. My ­opponents are at best out of touch and at worst perverse. Vote for me.

There are few rhetorical turns more ­suspect than politicians begging for votes by pretending to be outsiders, promising to be unpolitical, offering plain home cooking – but last week’s presidential results from the States are likely to encourage folk like Findlay peddling a similar kind of politics.

Findlay gave his first major speech last week. It was a bit of a mishmash of themes and tones, combining a populist pitch with potentially unpopular policy ­commitments. In a speech calling for an end to “the ­student politics of gimmicks and cheap headlines that come with costly price tags”, there were inevitably a wide range of gimmicks and reasonably-priced slogans in search of a headline.

Findlay’s opening gambit explicitly ­positioned him as anti-establishment. “Many people across Scotland believe that our politics is rotten. With a lack of trust in politicians deep-rooted and unlike ­anything I’ve known in my lifetime,” he said.

But when it came to policy and public spending, Findlay set to deploying a false dilemma like a seasoned political pro: “We believe pensioners who’ve worked hard all their days should be able to afford winter heating before asylum seekers are gifted free travel.”

Bloated quango culture

From this, he segued into Tory crowd-pleasers about taking an axe to ­Scotland’s “bloated quango culture”,........

© Herald Scotland