News from the North

Former President of Conservative Future Scotland Maurice Golden has been selected to fight for the Tories in the completely unwinnable Glenrothes by-election.

Maurice stood for Central Fife in the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary election and gained 2000 odd votes to the SNP's 10,000.

He must beat the Lib Dems to take third - a hurdle of some 2000 votes.


Having cut his teeth editing the Dundee Student Times, or "'Life in Dundee according to Maurice Golden" as it became "affectionately" known under his tenior, he then took over Dundee University Students Association. An impressive feat for any Tory, especially in Scotland.

TB has spoken to a fair few Calidonian co-conspirators today and the general consensus is the Party didn't exactly choose the most inspiring of candidates. The word dull came up more than once. Maurice was CF President in Scotland for three years and to be fair by the end of his time in office had made some enemies. TB imagines he will be hard pushed to get some of the older members of CFS, who remember the

cliquishness

of his last year or so in office to hit the streets for him.

CFS is very different from CF in England. One thing that binds the members in England is the prospect that we will more than likely be in government soon, or at least that is an achievable goal.

In Scotland things are very different.

The Conservatives won't be forming a government in Holyrood and there seems little to fight for. It's hard to unite the youth behind a banner that has the prospect of coming fourth. Because of this, little things like supposed cliquishness or bitchiness is taken so much more seriously instead of members looking to the bigger and brighter prospects of a successful campaign. Grudges are held in the quagmire of endless defeat.

The situation CFS and the wider Party in Scotland is in at the moment needs a massive kick up the arse and has been playing on TB's mind for a while now... Any Party that doesn't notice a hundred grand going walkies in in a pretty shoddy state.