For Scottish Conservatives, the prospect of a second referendum on Brexit opens a large can of worms

While Brexit has divided the Conservative Party south of the border, in Scotland it has been a point of unity, says John McLellan in a new book, ‘Will the Tory Party Ever Be the Same?’

Ruth Davidson has put the Scottish Conservatives back on the political map (Getty)

Seven years ago the Scottish Conservative Party faced a stark choice. But the constitutional wrangling then was nothing to do with Europe and everything to do with the party’s ability to argue for the maintenance of the United Kingdom.

For the Scottish party the argument about Europe has not so much played second fiddle to the debate about Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom, but placed it firmly as first reserve for the third violins.

The battle with Scottish nationalism comes first because its threat is the most pressing, and while differences of opinion within the ranks about Brexit are as real as they are in the south, they do not create the same tensions.