ADAM Tomkins, the former Scottish Conservative MSP, has certainly been on a few, ahem, interesting political journeys in his life. The one-time firebrand socialist who once wrote a book entitled "Our Republican Constitution" which outlined a programme of republican constitutional reform in the UK that was designed to secure genuinely responsible British government, morphed into a Conservative politician, defender of the status quo and staunch supporter of the Windsor Dynasty.  

Now that he is no longer a Tory MSP and is free from the constraints of having to toe the Conservative party line, Adam is continuing on his decidedly idiosyncratic political journey. This week Adam has been treating us to his latest hot take on how to defeat those pesky Nats for good, by which of course he means nationalists of the Scottish independence supporting variety. This is because Adam – like Muriel Gray and Neil Oliver, the remainder bookshop Gandalf – is very much one of those apologists for the British state who believes that being British provides a magical shield that protects believers in Westminster rule from the original sin of nationalism.

Adam's big idea is that everyone should declare independence from Westminster – everyone, that is, except Scotland. It's only the anti-independence parties which he thinks should declare independence. In his Hogmanay musings, Adam writes: "None of the opposition parties are going to get anywhere near power until they break free of the millstones around their necks, divorce themselves from their London parties and come together to offer a single, united front against the Nationalist ascendancy."

It's not entirely clear why he thinks that admitting that the dysfunction of Westminster is a millstone around Scottish necks actually strengthens the case for opposition to independence. It would leave the anti-independence parties in the tricky position of having to explain why independence is okay for them but not for anyone else. Mind you, hypocrisy is very much within the comfort zone of the Conservative party, so if nothing else it would at least be on brand.

Neither is it clear how the position of the anti-independence parties is strengthened by them asserting that independence from a dysfunctional, corrupt and unaccountable Westminster is necessary for them to function effectively. I may be missing something, but that's pretty much the case for Scottish independence right there. 

What Tomkins is proposing amounts to the removal of any last remaining shreds of Scottish representation from the parties of British government. It's the fact that there is already so little meaningful Scottish input into the policies of British governments which is one of the main drivers of demand for Scottish independence. Adam would like to abolish even those remaining and ineffective vestiges.

Additionally, he wants Labour, the LibDems and the Tories to form a united front against pro-independence parties, because getting into bed with the Conservatives worked out so well for the Labour party the last time they tried it in 2014, while the LibDems have still not recovered from their experience of coalition with David Cameron.

What Adam is really after, of course, is yet more British unaccountability. He wants the British parties to be freed from being answerable for the dysfunction of the Westminster that he wants Scotland to remain subject to while Scotland is deprived of any voice or representation at a UK level. You can't really get more British nationalist than that.

This piece is an extract from today’s REAL Scottish Politics newsletter, which is emailed out at 7pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from the Wee Ginger Dug.

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