THE Scottish Tories must have an “important” conversation about splitting from their UK bosses, a senior MSP has said.
Writing in The Scotsman, Liam Kerr, a former depute leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said the contest to replace Douglas Ross “must take time and involve many different voices”.
The comments can be read as a subtle rebuke to Russell Findlay, the frontrunner in the Scottish Tory leadership race who has said members must “not turn inwards and spend all our time debating proposals to split the Scottish Conservatives from the UK party”.
Findlay’s allies are facing allegations of acting like an “establishment cabal” to install him as group leader without a true contest.
Previously, The Telegraph reported that senior members within the party had said there was a deliberate campaign to “besmirch” people other than Findlay who were considering entering the race.
That came after negative stories about Jamie Greene and Meghan Gallacher, two younger Scottish Tories said to be considering leadership runs, were fed to the Scottish Daily Mail.
Gallacher did not understand that VAT was reserved to Westminster, one story said, while the other claimed Greene could be “deselected as a candidate for Holyrood by local members” due to a focus on “woke” issues.
In all, around one-third of all Scottish Tory MSPs are thought to be considering a run at the leadership.
The idea of a split from the UK party was floated by Murdo Fraser during the 2011 leadership contest against Ruth Davidson, which he ultimately lost.
Fraser has been in North America for the last two weeks and has not yet made his views on the current leadership race clear.
Writing on Twitter/X on Friday morning, Fraser said: “Heading home after a wonderful two weeks in the USA and Canada ... Good to see nothing of interest happening politically on either side of the Atlantic whilst I was away.”
Liz Smith, another senior MSP, has said that she believes Fraser will stand and that a pitch to break away from the UK Conservatives will be “part of the mix” in the Scottish Tory leadership race.
Writing in the Scotsman on Friday, Kerr also said the idea should be up for discussion.
“The idea of a Scottish Conservative party fully detached from the UK brand was floated in the 2011 leadership contest. There were pros and cons, and ultimately the membership rejected the idea. But, 13 years on, with so much having happened politically, it is surely important that we revisit it as part of the current leadership process,” he said.
Mr Kerr added: “Since the election and Douglas Ross’s resignation as leader, many Scottish Conservative MSPs have spoken about the need for a re-set, a new identity, indeed a distinct identity. It seems from their pronouncements that there is a consensus for change; the debate seems to be about how much.”
Tory MSP Stephen Kerr has argued for the party to move further to the right and oppose “shibboleths” in Scottish politics, such as free university tuition fees.
However, Greene has said there is no appetite for a lurch to the right in Scotland.
