Senior Tories back Findlay as party leader in Scotland

Two senior Tory figures have backed Russell Findlay to become the next leader of the Scottish Conservatives in a boost for the bookies’ favourite before the first televised debate between the candidates.
John Lamont, who was appointed shadow Scottish secretary after the Conservatives’ general election defeat, and David Mundell, the former Scottish secretary, have backed Findlay to repair the party’s prospects in Scotland.
Both suggest that Findlay’s reputation as a formidable crime reporter before turning to politics would elevate his appeal among the wider public. Findlay said at his campaign launch that the Tories had lost some of Ruth Davidson’s “mojo” since she left frontline politics. Davidson is widely seen as the most successful Scottish Conservative leader since devolution.
However, supporters of the other leadership contenders, Murdo Fraser and Meghan Gallacher, said the backing of two senior and influential figures proved that the party “establishment” was moving behind Findlay. “There is no doubt that Russell is the establishment’s choice,” said one source. “The same people doing the same things just won’t cut it.”
Lamont said Findlay has “the broad appeal to deliver election success” and could win the trust of voters who were hostile towards the Tories. “I was Ruth Davidson’s campaign manager in 2011 and I recognise a lot of the same strengths in Russell,” Lamont said. “He’s positive, determined and he connects with people. Russell is not a career politician; that’s his great strength. But since becoming an MSP, he’s already achieved a lot by pushing the SNP to act and holding them to account on several justice issues.”
• Russell Findlay is the leader the Scottish Conservatives need
Mundell predicted that Findlay would be able to “stand up to John Swinney at first minister’s questions” and appeal to voters who had abandoned the Tories for Labour and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Despite the bitterness that has dominated the leadership contest, Mundell claimed that Findlay “would keep the party united and bring people together”. He added: “Russell has the life experience to be an effective leader and deliver the right kind of change that our party needs to succeed again.”
The latest endorsements mean Findlay has the backing of all five Scottish Conservative MPs. Last week Pam Gosal, the MSP, resigned as the party’s deputy chair to join the ranks of Holyrood parliamentarians supporting Findlay, the party’s justice spokesman.
The candidates will go head to head on Monday in a televised debate for STV. A series of internal party hustings have already taken place, with multiple critics of Findlay claiming that he has not performed as well as Fraser, the veteran economy spokesman, or Gallacher.
“Murdo has come across much more polished, but he struggles to connect with members and they’re sceptical about his position on the split party,” said a Tory source.
The backing for Findlay came as Kemi Badenoch, one of the frontrunners to be the new UK Conservative leader, reportedly declared herself a “devolution sceptic” at a campaign event. She was quoted as saying “we can’t just accept devolution” and that the Tories “need to talk about rolling it back”.
Andrew Bowie, the shadow veterans minister, has taken a prominent role in both Badenoch and Findlay’s campaigns, although Findlay will not declare who he wants to win the UK contest.
Badenoch’s allies insisted that it did not mean she would reduce Holyrood’s powers but would not “hold back from acting in the wider UK’s interest if needed” in instances such as blocking the Scottish government’s gender reforms.
• Top Tories ready to endorse Kemi Badenoch’s bid to lead party
Tom Tugendhat has the broadest support to be UK leader among the Scottish Conservatives. Liz Smith, the party’s finance spokeswoman at Holyrood, last week endorsed Tugendhat, saying he was the only one of the UK candidates who understood the challenges facing Scotland.
Tugendhat said: “It is an honour to now have over a third of the Conservative Scottish Party endorsing me. As the Conservative leader, I promise to always fight for the Union and deliver on the priorities of the Scottish people.”