FOR the 21st century, it still needs to be proved that those UK prime ministers who are also English Tories can come to Scotland whenever they feel like it; walk along the streets and shopping precincts, shake hands with the locals, kiss babies and generally act as normal human beings, so far as this is possible for any politician.
In Scotland, of course, all these are activities that cannot be brought here by English–Tories-cum-prime-ministers, or not at least without an escort of police and an entourage of tame paid-up party hacks summoned to show loyal support by the flaunting of Union Jacks. It is even better to do this on a chilly afternoon with an international rugby match going on at the same time in an adjacent city, so that there are rival attractions for any dissidents. I have this on the authority of Boris Johnson, who came here on just such an errand last weekend.