At the age of 87, Les Mason has become part of a new breed of politicians – those who will only stand for election if they are guaranteed to lose. He was asked by the Conservatives if they could put his name down for a ward in the Highlands, two hours away from his home, because they couldn’t find anyone locally. Mr Mason had little intention of campaigning, especially in a part of the world whose population density is on a par with that of Mongolia. So he said he would do it “if they could guarantee I would not win”. They were able to give such a guarantee. They are, after all, the Scottish Conservatives: defeat is their speciality.