Scottish Conservatives need wake-up call

Today is the first day of the Scottish Conservatives’ Conference, a good time to summarise what they've achieved since last year's election.
According to Annabel Goldie:

1."Real change" (as opposed to the "unreal" variety I suppose).
2."A £114m improvement to the Scottish budget, including speedier business rate cuts, more police officers and a new drugs strategy"- there’s a fair bit of controversy currently over those police numbers.
3. "Welcomed in" and "sucked up" to the SNP minority administration.

And at the same time,although apparently as very much an afterthought:

4."Opposed the drive for Scottish Independence."

Goldie’s claims that the Scottish Tories are "on the up", the opinion polls claim otherwise...they would do well to read Alan Cochrane's timely advice in the Daily Telegraph:

There's a complacency about the Tories at Holyrood which ignores the fact that to the public at large they're all but invisible.

They've got to stop patting themselves on the back, claiming they're the best opposition party and saying that they've wrung significant concessions out of Alex Salmond. Neither is true. They've got to start being much more aggressive and imposing themselves on the public consciousness.

This mini-conference, which opens tomorrow, is likely to be overshadowed by Mr Cameron's speech, but the party is not without talent and, additionally, it is slowly but surely changing its image.

With the likes of Derek Brownlee and Liz Smith, it is looking younger and, in Ted Brocklebank and Alex Johnstone, it has effective performers.

But with Labour discredited, the Tory aim must be to replace them as the main Unionist party. They won't do that by co-operating with Ms Alexander.

More importantly, it's up to Annabel Goldie to take the battle to the separatists. The Tories have got to fight the Nats, not do deals with them.