CALLS from Scottish Tory leadership hopefuls for the race to be paused amid concerns about Douglas Ross’s conduct have gone ignored by party high command for a week.
The Scottish Tory party management board is yet to respond to concerns raised about allegations Ross tried to pressure an election candidate to quit last year so he could pave a way back to Westminster.
Today marks a week since hopefuls Murdo Fraser, Liam Kerr, Jamie Greene, and Brian Whittle – of whom only Fraser remains in the race – wrote to the party demanding answers in a show of unity against Ross (below).
They demanded answers on what action the party management had taken in light of the allegations in a statement that said Ross’s alleged attempts to get Kathleen Robertson to step aside for him were “disturbing”.
Frontrunner Russell Findlay did not sign the statement, nor did former deputy leader Meghan Gallacher, who quit her position in a protest against Ross following the revelations first reported in The Telegraph.
Both candidates remain in the race, while Whittle, Greene and Kerr have all backed out and are now backing Fraser’s campaign.
Fraser also has the support of outspoken backbencher Stephen Kerr, who was revealed earlier this month to have confessed privately he thought his candidate’s campaign was “awful”.
Jackson Carlaw, who has previously served as acting leader of the Scottish Tories, has come out publicly to say he believes Ross’s position is “unsustainable”.
But Ross has held firm saying he intends to remain in post until the conclusion of the leadership race.
SNP MP Pete Wishart (below) said the Scottish Tory leadership race had been “chaotic” and mocked Fraser for suggesting yesterday he should be “coronated” after the Tory MSP called on Gallacher and Findlay to quit.
He told The National: “Of all the embarrassing turn of events in the Scottish Tory leadership contest, the request to pause the contest by the majority of the candidates stands out as the most cringeworthy yet.
“Not even Murdo Fraser's request to be coronated comes close to beating it. After making this request, surely Tory HQ could at least offer some sort of response, even just to tell them there's nothing to see here?
“Pausing their chaotic leadership election might actually do all involved a massive favour. It would certainly deprive the rest of us of our daily diet of Tory-related entertainment.”
The Scottish Conservatives did not respond to a request for comment.
