There will be more croaks than jokes on Friday when Boris Johnson and Douglas Ross meet to smooth the serious rift that exists between them. 

The Prime Minister and the leader of the Scottish Tories have agreed a truce, given Mr Johnson’s role in isolating Vladimir Putin. But as Mr Ross is literally speechless, having lost his voice to a serious throat infection, he wouldn’t have got a word in, anyway.

They’ve agreed that the Prime Minister’s address to the party’s conference in Aberdeen should be delivered in person, rather than on Zoom –  a significant change, given that Mr Ross and the majority of its MPs and MSPs had decided that Mr Johnson should resign as Prime Minister over “partygate”.

However, just to provide further proof of Harold Wilson’s old maxim that a week is a long time in politics, the intervening period and the small matter of a major war escalating in central Europe meant that a ceasefire between the warring Tories has been agreed.

Peace at a time of war

Mr Ross was the first to submit a letter to the chairman of the 1922 committee, calling for a vote of no confidence in Mr Johnson’s leadership. If 53 other such letters are submitted, such a vote will be held – a vote that Mr Johnson might have trouble surviving.

As a sign that he is serious about the truce, Mr Ross has now withdrawn the letter whilst expressing the view, shared by many, that “the middle of an international crisis is not the time to be discussing resignations”.

All of that said, none of this suggests that the truce between Mr Johnson and his Scottish party, as well as with the bulk of the Scottish electorate, is anything other than temporary; a “hostilities only” affair.

Mr Ross intends to keep his powder dry – obviously until he gets his voice back – but also until we discover the results of the Scotland Yard inquiries into whether the Prime Minister did or didn’t attend Downing Street parties that he knew, or didn’t know, were in breach of his own rules and regulations about beating Covid.

As one senior Tory said, with a definite air of pained resignation in his voice: “With Boris, there’s always something lurking round the corner… just waiting to explode.”

And so, as is still the case, a considerable number of Scottish Tories and their supporters don’t believe that he can lead a united front to beat the SNP in a new independence referendum that Nicola Sturgeon hopes to force next year.

Determined to show unity

Nevertheless, in spite of that and when he had a voice, Mr Ross insisted: “I think it would be extremely dangerous to try and destabilise the United Kingdom when Russia is killing innocent people in Ukraine. Seeking to remove the Prime Minister just now would be a big boost to Vladimir Putin.” 

Moreover, the very fact of his key role in the West’s united front against Putin’s aggression will ensure that the Prime Minister gets a more than respectful reception on Friday for what will be his first speech to his party’s Scottish conference.

If Mr Ross’s voice doesn’t recover, he is still determined to appear at the conference to present a united front with Mr Johnson, although his conference address on Saturday is expected to be significantly cut back. 

As well as croaking his support for Mr Johnson in uniting the attack on Putin, he is determined to launch a bitter attack on the First Minister’s determination to shortly launch her campaign for another referendum on independence.

The Prime Minister’s speech on Friday must surely see the start of his attempt to mend the fractured relationship he has with his Scottish party. He must convince his Scottish MPs that not only does he deserve their full-hearted support for his role in isolating Putin, but also that he is the best man to lead the battle against the nationalists and save the Union.

Of course, that depends on a small matter of that Scotland Yard report into “partygate”.