Baroness Davidson backs favourite Findlay to be next Scottish Tory leader

Baroness Davidson, a former leader of the Scottish Conservatives, is backing ex-journalist Russell Findlay to be the party’s new leader at Holyrood.

Former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson is backing Russell Findlay to be the party’s next chief at Holyrood (Jane Barlow/PA)

Former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson backed Russell Findlay to be the next leader at Holyrood – as she firmly rejected plans by a rival candidate to stage a commission on the party’s future.

Baroness Davidson said that idea, put forward by veteran MSP Murdo Fraser, is a “Trojan horse plan to split the party by stealth”.

Adding that such a commission would look at the Scottish Tories “loosening ties” with the UK party, she insisted this is “entirely the wrong approach to take”.

We must put this plan for a party-splitting 'commission' back in its box, nail down the lid and get back to the job of building our party up, not breaking it up

Baroness Davidson

Writing in the Scottish Daily Mail, the former MSP, who quit as Scottish Tory leader five years ago, declared: “At its very core, our party is based on the principle that we achieve progress, prosperity and security by working across the whole United Kingdom. It’s what makes us Unionists.

“So we must put this plan for a party-splitting ‘commission’ back in its box, nail down the lid and get back to the job of building our party up, not breaking it up.”

Her comments came as she backed Mr Findlay, a former journalist who entered Holyrood in 2021, to be her party’s next leader, saying he “has the vision, the grit, the ability and the support to take the fight to the SNP”.

Baroness Davidson said the success the party achieved under her leadership, when Tories became the largest opposition party at Holyrood, was down to three things – “a good team, good communication of a positive message, and bloody hard work”.

However she added: “I find it a bit depressing how the lessons of those years of progress seem to have been forgotten by some of my former colleagues at Holyrood.

“Where has the positivity gone? Where is that uplifting message of hope? What happened to that spirit of teamwork?”

Saying the Tories need “fresh leadership” so they can “reconnect” with those voters “who may have drifted away over recent years”, she stated: “Russell Findlay ticks all the right boxes.

“He became an MSP after a 30-year career working as a fearless and successful investigative journalist. That experience ensures he has the natural understanding of the concerns of mainstream voters, which is an essential part of effective leadership.”

She continued: “I want what’s best for the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party that I was so proud to lead, so proud to serve and so proud to help rebuild.

“I want to see it undergo the same renewal we accomplished after 2011 and go on to achieve even greater success.

“But that can only happen if our members – both elected and from the grassroots – pull together and work as a team.

“And that team can only be built if it is led by the right person, with the right ideas and the right values. The values of decent, hard-working, law-abiding, community-spirited, mainstream Scotland.

“I am convinced that person is Russell Findlay. It’s why I have chosen to support him in his campaign to be elected as our next leader.”

Baroness Davidson declared her support after ballots for the leadership contest were sent out to Conservative Party members across the country.

Mr Findlay is running against Mr Fraser and former Scottish Conservative deputy leader Meghan Gallacher to succeed Douglas Ross after he stood down suddenly during the general election campaign.

The winner of the contest is due to be announced on Friday September 27.