Smash hit

So, the party’s priorities will not reflect his background as a land-owning member of the Scottish establishment? “It’s not them that’s standing on the street corners uneducated,” is his response.

“I’m somewhat disappointed to have been described as a right-of-centre party, when what made me start was the feeling that a large part of the population in Scotland that should have hope, don’t.

“Initiative can come from anywhere, whether it’s the Raploch estate in Stirling or the smart side of Edinburgh. I hope I’ll get people wanting to join me from every walk of life, from every side of the political spectrum.”

Aware that the Scottish Democrats might be seen as a party treading on the natural ground of the Scottish Tories, Stirling denies that his party would be unnecessary if the Conservatives were punching their weight.

But attempts to pin down the Scottish Democrats’ policy platform on key issues prove fruitless. What is his position on more powers for Holyrood, for example? “I don’t know the answer to that,” is his candid reply. “What I do know is that things are wrong and there is no acknowledgement that things are wrong at the moment. I’m not going to arrive with a series of immediate ‘Jim’ll Fix It’ manoeuvres, because it’s not that easy.”

Right and left are irrelevant to the main problem facing Holyrood, he says. The priority must be to improve the calibre of MSPs, and bring in people of independent mind who are not beholden to party machines — people rather like Stirling, in fact.

“Whatever direction the Scottish ship of state goes in, we shouldn’t have this crew running it. We should have better people in there, we should have people who are experts in a variety of things joining in the debate, we should have informed debate.

“Whatever direction we decide to go, we should at least have a crew that knows how to steer the boat correctly, and make sure it doesn’t get holed by passing icebergs.”

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POLICIES, political skill and practicalities aside, one thing is in no doubt. Archie Stirling would make a colourful and characterful addition to the ranks of the Holyrood parliament. This is a man with antecedents and hinterland.

Roddy Martine, a writer on the aristocracy, was on the same social circuit as Stirling at that time.

“I remember him as a bit of a wild card,” he says. “That was his reputation. We all thought he was glamorous and fast. As an individual, I’ve only ever known him as a man who drives fast cars and marries glamorous women.”

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