SPARE a thought for the poor Scottish Conservatives. They are, after all, looking set to lose their deposit in a humiliating result in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.
And not only that. They are also tied to their increasingly conspiratorial bosses down in London, and left defending the indefensible. Well, they’re probably used to that.
Something else they’ll have to get used to is getting wiped off the electoral map.
While we’ll all have to wait for a General Election for that luxury, the BBC have got started a bit early.
In a moment which has got the Scottish Tories fuming, the BBC’s Philip Sim presented an explainer on the broadcaster’s coverage of the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.
But the BBC’s election map of the 2019 results instead provided a glimpse of a possible future.
In place of the three Tory seats across the English border, the SNP were handed all three constituencies.
Imagine a world without Alister Jack in Dumfries and Galloway, David Mundell in Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, or John Lamont in Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk.
Apparently, the thought of it isn’t very attractive to the Scottish Tories.
“South of Scotland is a big blue band of Conservatives @BBCPhilipSim,” MSP Rachael Hamilton wrote.
“Your electoral map is showing 3 @ScotTories seats in South Scotland as SNP @BBCPhilipSim - why?” MSP Murdo Fraser added.
“Your map’s wrong, @BBCPhilipSim. The borders/south of Scotland is @ScotTories blue,” their colleague Jamie Halcro Johnston wrote.
