Missed opportunities are so deeply frustrating. Missing the opportunity to achieve something truly meaningful, truly transformational, is in many ways worse than never having had the chance at all.

I wrote on these pages, before May’s Holyrood election, about my enthusiasm at the prospect of Malcolm Offord entering the Scottish Parliament. There was, and is, nuance behind this. Nuance is a scarce resource in Scotland today, but I’ll try to explain it anyway.

Holyrood is stale. Boring. Lacking in courage, bereft of ideas, focused on unserious matters and failing to fill the shoes of Scotland’s renowned intellectual forebears.

There was no obvious reason for Mr Offord to want to get involved. He doesn’t need the money. He doesn’t need notoriety. He doesn’t need the hassle. So the only plausible reason I could identify for why he decided to stand for election is that he’s a successful and proud Scot who wanted his national Parliament to deliver for his fellow countrymen.

I know what Scotland really needs - more MSPs at Holyrood

The government has to pick a lane - high tax or high growth

A Sturgeon inquiry won’t help us in the long run

Enough is enough - Scotland needs new political parties to emerge

For that reason, in my head, I gave Mr Offord a pass on his choice of political party. It is difficult for anyone with radical ideas to progress in the Conservative Party, especially when their fortunes are decided by a few members at a local hustings event. The Tories are as intellectually stale and incurious as the Parliament itself. Whilst they are clearly interested in........

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