I used to have a certain amount of time for Andrew Neil, when he was tearing into those politicians who made themselves available (i.e. not Boris Johnson, and others of that ilk) on BBC television, but he could never be accused of hiding his light under a bushel. He actually has an extremely large head for his body size (doubtless he'd claim in order to accommodate his brains!) but he's always been guilty of 'pushing' certain characters in public life, mostly those who, if not obsequious, are prepared to indicate they value Neil's opinions, or not argue too hard against them. If they are Scottish, so much the better, so such disparate characters as Salmond and Galloway are included (though both, I note, are happy to promote themselves on Russia Today.) He'll hate having been discarded by the BBC and will see it as a personal crusade to oppose those who he considers responsible, a bit like some of those politicians he's ever keen to promote. His time has gone.