Second memo attacks Tory MSPs

A second memo attacking all 18 Conservative MSPs individually features in today's Scotland on Sunday.  The memo, rumours of which circulated throughout the Scottish Tory conference in Perth and which the SoS' Eddie Barnes is suggesting is the work of David Mundell, describes one MSP as a "loose cannon", one as "divisive", and former leader David McLetchie as "damaged goods."

Mr Mundell has assured David Cameron's office and his former colleagues in the Scottish Parliament that the memo is not his.  Conspiracy theorists are suggesting that Mr Mundell may have leaked 'The Daily Record clueless memo' to pre-emptively distance himself from what could be disappointing results for Annabel Goldie on 3rd May.  The Mundell memo row overshadowed a conference in which Ms Goldie pledged to put 1,500 more police officers on Scotland's streets.

Eddie Barnes also has authored a piece on Scotland's 'Tory blogland.'

Comments

[Umbrella Man]

If Mundell did write this memo he is toast.

[Boy Blue]

Conspiracy theorists are suggesting that Mr Mundell may have leaked 'The Daily Record clueless memo' to pre-emptively distance himself from what could be disappointing results for Annabel Goldie on 3rd May.

-------

Its hard to believe that even Mundell could be so stupid as to leak this deliberately. He has now set himself up as the perfect scapegoat for a poor result on May 3rd. What a fool.

The Tory activists in Perth made perfectly clear what they thought of his antics im contrast to the rapturous reception for Annabel Goldie.

Mundell is a lame duck Shadow Secretary of State in that any authority he had has now evaporated. Stay or go, he is a laughing stock and an embarrassmnet to the Party. Cameron should do us all a favour and put him out of his misery.

[David Walker]

It is a shame Michael Ancram or Malcolm Rifkind aren't holding Shadow Cabinet positions as they could combine other duties with the Scottish brief and bring some professionalism to Scottish representation. Mundell has never been strong enough for the role.

[Scotty]

"Conspiracy theorists are suggesting that Mr Mundell may have leaked 'The Daily Record clueless memo' to pre-emptively distance himself from what could be disappointing results for Annabel Goldie on 3rd May."

I think I will put this suggestion in the same category as this one!

"Looking at the IP addresses of the critical commenters above reveals that a number of them are using the same computer..."

I have just looked back at the original thread on this story and I think that Tartan Tory's comment still rings true.

"I agree with all the other posters who think that ConHome has gone completely OTT against Mundell. The crass editorialising and demands for resignation feel like a cynical Daily Express-style 'let's whip up outrage for its own sake' approach.

Mundell was certainly naive to put his thoughts to paper but some malicious creature has held back the memo to be released at the most sensitive time possible."
Someone seems to want to use David Mundell as a way of damaging the chances of the Conservative in Scotland at the May elections..
There was no further explanation about the insinuation regarding people who were using the same IP address which was annoying for those of us who were critical, but did not post multiple comments under different names.
I am angry at the way that Scottish Conservatives in the blogsphere were portrayed by the journalist, it was unfair and I would have thought that deserved a mention rather than unhelpful or unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.

[Off Message]

Mundell has done nothing wrong and there is nothing to suggest that he would ever leak anything damaging to the Party. "Conspiracy theorists are suggesting" indeed. Most posters have made it clear that they support Mundell and reject the editorial line of this site. Sadly the small number of attack dogs have been persistent and created an entirely falso impression backed by the innuendo of the Editor.

I don't know what David Mundell has ever done to you Tim but it had better be pretty bad to justify what you have tried to do to him. I hope you will now stop and let him get on with his job.

[scotty-the- footsoldier]

‘Most posters have made it clear that they support Mundell and reject the editorial line of this site. Sadly the small number of attack dogs have been persistent and created an entirely falso impression backed by the innuendo of the Editor.’

Really Off message ? Can you count ? – Not by my arithmetic, not by any stretch of the imagination. Were you at the Scottish conference on Saturday? Are you going to tell us now that Mundell got a rapturous reception from the party faithful? Have you read to-days papers? My impression was that he was about as welcome as a fart in a space ship to use the Glasgow vernacular.
Its fairly common knowledge that the existence of the Mundell memo has been known about on the Tory floor in the SP for months and that it contained a report card on each MSP. That there would be a second leg to the story was therefore inevitable. The only good thing about the SOS story today is that it gets it out now rather than during the campaign proper.
All members I spoke to at the conference were seething at Mundell, and several constituency chairmen refused to even go into the auditorium to listen to him. An apology might have at least done him some good, but there was none.
Are you and fellow poster Scotty ( definitely no relation to me ) seriously suggesting that the leadership and the MSP’s will get up tomorrow morning and start campaigning with Mundell as if nothing has ever happened? If you believe that then you are delusional. However there is hope for you -- I’m told the treatment at Crichton Royal in Mundell’s Constituency is very good and you may not necessarily have to be admitted to one of the secure wings.
I repeat the simple question I posed on this site last week. Just tell me how we deal with the Mundell memo on the doorstep over the next seven weeks. Ignore it and it will go away?
Let me tell you how I would like to deal with it. ‘David Mundell made a serious error of judgement, in committing to paper an assessment of colleagues that even a twelve year old would know if it were to be leaked it would do untold damage to the Party.
But he is a man of honour and he has done the decent thing and resigned.’
My question tonight therefore is simply this. Is he a man of honour or is he just another Blairite style politician prepared to hang on until the leader has no option but to sack him.
Make no mistake about we cannot go into the election without lancing this boil.
All that the Editor of this site is doing is sticking up for the grass roots - its what it says on the tin.

[Boy Blue]

Scotty-the-footsoldier

You are bang on. This was exactly the mood of the activists in Perth. If the armchair apologists for Mundell did any doorstep campaigning they would know how damaging his foolishness was.

[Mundell Out]

I never heard a good word said about Mundell at conference - most people expected him to fall on his sword. He has no credibility left. David Cameron should sack him if he refuses to resign.