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Written by Gordon Wallace-Brown, who is a party activist in East Renfrewshire.

This forthcoming Leadership Election has given us the best chance in decades to open the party up to public scrutiny through both the press and visual media and we must take full opportunity to make the maximum impact.

The current Scottish Government’s apparent popularity has to be put down,in large,to a void in active opposition, as Labour and ourselves go through the process of electing a leader and also the poor impact Willie Rennie’s election has made. Alex Salmond will soon find out how fickle the electorate can be when his policies take effect and the responsiblities for unwise decisions land on his shoulders, as they most certainly will.

The Conservatives have the advantage that the other Opposition parties don’t have…..young talent among our MSP’s with vision and ambition…whereas Labour seem to lack any talent or anyone willing to put their heads above the parapet.Who would want to lead such a motley crew ? How many leaders have they had since the inception of Holyrood? Belrusconi has lasted longer!

We must look forward and not backwards. The stalwarts of the past, who have served us so well and to whom we must express our gratitude, must realise that times have changed and however comforting the memories of past success are , these are the policies and direction that have led to unmitigated disaster for us here in Scotland. The new generation must be given the platform to discuss their plans openly and not fear a backlash from our members for speaking the unthinkable. John Lamont has proved that the right person in the right place can generate interest in the party and achieve spectacular success and that must be the format we carry forward. By all means acknowledge our past achievements but that is is all they are.Many of the activists and members who are appauled by fresh policy initiatives must accept that those attitudes have been our downfall. We are now having to appeal to a different style of electorate and that must be faced. Youth and a more pluralistic attitude is what is needed and our gratitude must be expressed to Annabel for her level headed approach which took the perception of “nastiness” and “self interest” out of people’s view of the Scottish Conservatives, unfortunately not enough to lend us their vote but most certainly opening up strong possiblities for the future She must be,using the old cliche, the best First Minister we never had.

In preparation for the next Scottish Election, each Constituency must take a long harsh look at the sitting candidates and judge there performance.Jackson Carlaw’s utterance about a maximum term for list MSP’s is only rewarding mediocrity. In the short to mid-term, we as a party, will have to accept that the majority of our representation will be on the list basis, many of whom do a sterling job, Mary Scanlon,Elizabeth Smith,Murdo Fraser to name but a few. However there are exceptions who have let their electorate down badly and have to be judged on that basis.

We have to encourage new blood to come forward and face a challenge. Maurice Golden is one local example in mind, and it can only be a matter of time before he achieves the success he deserves.