With or without boris, scotland faces a lose-lose situation with the tories

_‘Having or showing no skill; clumsy’_ – that is the definition of the word ‘inept’ in the Oxford English Dictionary. It goes on to provide the demonstrative phrase ‘the referee’s inept

handling of the match’. One might think that the lexicographer writing this entry was thinking of Douglas Ross, who, as well as his jobs as Member of the Scottish Parliament, Member of the

Westminster Parliament and Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party, is a football referee – and someone who has shown himself to be particularly inept at, among other things, dealing with

Boris Johnson’s law-breaking. Way back when many of the Partygate revelations came to light, Douglas Ross initially took the principled line and called for Johnson to resign, submitting his

letter of no confidence to the chairman of the 1922 Committee (the body that runs the party in Westminster). When the Prime Minister managed to escape a no-confidence vote then, Douglas Ross

chickened out and went back on his principles, seeking the earliest political cover to retract his letter of no confidence – in this case, the Russian invasion of Ukraine. When even more

news of parties came out, he wheeled back around and said that Johnson should go if the new Commons committee inquiry finds he has deliberately misled parliament. > 🔥 @Ianblackford_MP 

eviscerates Boris Johnson after over 40% of > Tory MPs vote no confidence in him. >  > "For Boris Johnson, truth and reality are strangers. The simple fact > is, he does not

 have the support the people of these islands. He > should be an ex-Prime Minister." pic.twitter.com/nP3MeY5ZeE >  > — The SNP (@theSNP) June 6, 2022 When this didn’t wash, he

suggested the Prime Minister should step down when the ‘war in Ukraine was over’. Unsurprisingly, the public and fellow politicians immediately saw through this lacklustre and ambiguous

attempt to seem firm in his principles. We have all seen the stats and polling that has come out recently – an overwhelming majority of people in the UK of all political persuasions think

Johnson has lied, and an overwhelming majority think he should resign. There is absolutely no ethically or logically sound reason a Tory MP could support the Prime Minister. If the moral

repugnance of supporting a Prime Minister who breaks the laws he makes for other people wasn’t enough, mounting evidence shows an election fought under the leadership of Boris Johnson would

be lost heavily. The Prime Minister’s position is best summed up by former staunch Johnson ally, Jesse Norman MP, who submitted his scathing letter of no confidence. ‘_You have presided over

a culture of casual law-breaking at 10 Downing Street in relation to COVID. To describe yourself as ‘vindicated’ by the report is grotesque._’ ‘_Under you, the Government seems to lack a

sense of mission. It has a large majority, but no long-term plan. Rather, you are simply seeking to campaign, to keep changing the subject and to create political and cultural dividing lines

mainly for your advantage. Sensible planning has been replaced by empty rhetoric._‘ ‘_Neither the Conservative Party nor this country can afford to squander the next two years adrift and

distracted by endless debate about you and your leadership._’ > Any update on latest Boris Johnson flip-flop from Scottish Tory > ‘leader” Douglas Ross? Compare and contrast with 

damning, > principled and effective intervention by senior Tory MP Jesse > Norman. #flipflop #BorisJohnsonOut https://t.co/fwGRJ0MxCC >  > — Angus Robertson (@AngusRobertson) 

June 6, 2022 We cannot forget that Scotland’s governmental future is being decided by Tory MPs alone. This is a disgrace, particularly given Scotland has a paltry 6 Tory MPs led by the inept

Douglas Ross. It is probably too much to hope that Mr Ross and the rest of Scotland’s few Tory MPs can improve their record and conduct themselves with the same decisiveness and principled

nature as Mr Norman. In Scotland’s case, with or without Boris Johnson, its ‘heads we lose, tails we lose’ with the Tories. _This article originally appeared in the Edinburgh Evening News._