David who?

Not for the first time, I feel a little sorry for the Tories. There they were, sailing along to the May election, knowing that they were down to their core vote and that they could not fall much further. Not for them the agonies of choosing which other party to support in coalition - nobody would want to partner the Tories. There is solace in being a wallflower: you don't expect anything and you can settle for emotional tranquility. Nor do you need to worry about dressing up in fancy new policies; you can stick to the tried and trusted. And if the familiar routines seem a little tired, well, it doesn't really matter. It's not as if you can actually change things.

Then that horrid rag, The Daily Record, digs up a memo from last June and this is the result:

TORY MSPs are clueless no-hopers - according to Scotland's only Conservative MP.
Shadow Scots secretary David Mundell delivered the damning verdict in a memo to leader David Cameron.
The memo - leaked to the Record - reveals Tory chiefs have completely lost confidence in their Holyrood team, including leader Annabel Goldie. Mundell's confidential briefing to Cameron emerged as the Tory leader prepared to head to Perth tomorrow for a pre-election speech to rally the party faithful.
The four-page memo claims there is a "simple lack of thinkers" among the 17 Tory MSPs and they are incapable of coming up with new policies.
Mundell, an MSP from 1999 to 2005, also tells Cameron that Goldie has been slated for "lack of activity" and MSPs have failed to embrace the party's moderate new approach, saying they "don't get it".

Mr Mundell is apparently the shadow Secretary of State for Scotland. He was once an MSP and made as much impression on Holyrood as he has in his new incarnation. Interestingly, no-one at Conservative Party HQ, least of all Mr Cameron, seems to have acted upon Mr Mundell's memo. Nor is it clear that, even if they were disposed to action, anyone has a clue about what to do to rectify the situation.