Scottish Conservatives leadership race: Who is in the running to replace Douglas Ross?

Six Scottish Tory MSPs have announced bids to succeed Douglas Ross as party leader.

Murdo Fraser, Russell Findlay, Meghan Gallacher, Brian Whittle, Liam Kerr and Jamie Greene have each thrown their hats into the ring ahead of nominations opening on Thursday.

The contest is scheduled to finish on 27 September – ahead of the UK Conservative Party revealing Rishi Sunak’s successor on 2 November.

Mr Ross previously announced he would step down as party leader following the general election.

It came amid criticism over the deselection of David Duguid as the candidate for the newly created seat of Aberdeenshire North and Moray East in the July election.

Mr Ross ran in Mr Duguid’s place but failed to be re-elected to Westminster – having previously been MP for Moray.

He will continue in his role as MSP for the Highlands and Islands.

Murdo Fraser

Mr Fraser, 58, has been the MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife since 2001.

He is currently the shadow cabinet secretary for business, economic growth and tourism.

Mr Fraser ran to lead his party in 2011 to replace Annabel Goldie but lost out to Ruth Davidson.

Announcing his fresh bid on Wednesday, Mr Fraser said he will not seek to split the Scottish Conservatives from their UK-wide counterparts as he previously intended in his earlier leadership run.

In a video posted to X, he said: “This party, our party, has let us all down.

“You, its members, were let down by Boris Johnson over partygate, you were let down by Liz Truss’s mini-budget, you were let down by Rishi Sunak at D-Day.

“And yes, I’m sorry to say, you were let down by Douglas Ross and his team.

“So now, our party must change, and change can’t be continuity in a fancy wrapper – our party needs a leader who will reach every corner of it, change it and hold it together all at the same time.”

Along with announcing his candidacy, Mr Fraser also published a 12-point plan for his leadership, including pledges to end what he described as “top-down directives”, creating more policies other than being against Scottish independence and putting a representative of the party’s councillors on the frontbench.

He also reiterated his commitment to an independent commission to look at the party’s links with the UK Tories.

Mr Fraser added his team will avoid attacking others in the race, and urged others to do the same.

The MSP said his party “needs change, but so does our country”.

With the Holyrood elections due to take place in 2026, he appealed to voters to support the Scottish Tories over the SNP and Scottish Labour.

He added: “So, if you believe in a party where the members take back control, and if you believe in a Scotland that takes a new direction with a government that is avowedly pro-growth, pro-business, supportive of individual liberty and personal responsibility, come and join me on this journey.”

Russell Findlay

Mr Findlay has been the MSP for West Scotland since 2021 and is the party’s justice spokesperson at Holyrood.

He has worked as a journalist for STV News, the Scottish Sun and the Sunday Mail.

His investigation into the disappearance of Margaret Fleming was used to help prosecute her killers.

As an author, Mr Findlay has written books on gangland crime and was the victim of an acid attack in 2015 when an assailant appeared on his doorstep disguised as a postman.

In 2017, the attacker was handed a 15-year extended sentence, with 10 years in jail and five years on licence once released back into the community.

Announcing his leadership bid last month, Mr Russell said he believes his party has the “chance to change Scotland for the better”.

He said: “We must refocus our efforts from predominantly battling against independence to instead leading a patriotic conservative movement that stands for aspiration and ambition.

“People know we’re unionists. They need to find out why we’re conservatives.

“I’m a conservative because I trust people to make their own decisions. I think that any individual should be able to go as far in life as their own abilities and efforts can take them.”

Mr Findlay said his party must set out a positive vision that “appeals to the interests, hopes and needs of ordinary people the length and breadth of Scotland”.

He added: “We have got to provide tangible, practical and pragmatic ideas and solutions that will change everyday lives for the better.

“I want to lead a new conservative movement on a mission to earn the right to govern one day.

“Join me as we build the conservative movement that Scotland needs.”

Meghan Gallacher

Ms Gallacher, 32, has been the MSP for Central Scotland since 2021 and is currently the party’s depute leader under Mr Ross.

The former North Lanarkshire councillor announced her leadership run last week.

In a video posted on social media, she said: “The next few weeks will be important in shaping the future of our party.

“Scotland knows what we stand against, but do they know what we stand for?

“This leadership election presents the opportunity for a reset – to renew our offering to the people of Scotland and to our membership who have stood by us through the good times and the bad.”

Ms Gallacher said she wants to build a “modern, centre-right party” with policies focusing on low taxes, property ownership, supporting families and protecting “rights and liberties”.

She added: “We need someone who can unite the party, who can reach out to people who have never thought of voting Scottish Conservatives before. I have the experience to do just that.”

The MSP cited her time as a councillor, saying she worked with people across the political divide “in the best interests of our communities”.

Pitching herself as a “bold, dynamic and fresh-faced” leader, she said she would deliver “a new beginning for the Scottish Conservatives”.

Brian Whittle

Mr Whittle, 60, has been the MSP for South Scotland since 2016.

The former Olympian sprinter announced his leadership bid last month, saying the contest was “when we decide how we pick ourselves up and prepare for the next race”.

The statement leaned on his athletics career, in which he raced at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul and won the 4x400m relay at the European Championships in 1994.

Mr Whittle said: “Losing hurts, every single time. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in politics, in business, in sport, or in any other competition.

“For me though, it’s not the losses that matter – it’s how I respond to them.

“One of the most valuable things I learned in sport is resilience – that drive to brush yourself off, pick yourself up and start thinking about how to beat whoever beat you.

“That’s the moment we’re in as Scottish Conservatives. This leadership is when we decide how we pick ourselves up and prepare for the next race.”

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Mr Whittle said his party had never been a “serious contender” to take over in Scotland in the 25 years of the Scottish parliament.

He said: “We can do better than that. As a party we must be more pro-active. It is not enough to respond to events – we must shape them.”

Mr Whittle, the party’s environment, biodiversity and land reform spokesperson, revealed his three “core principles” will be education, enterprise and empowering people.

He stated: “I want the Scottish Conservatives to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard, but we must also be willing to tell hard truths.

“A party that tries to be all things to all people will most likely end up being nothing to anyone.”

The MSP said this is his party’s opportunity to change and offer voters a “different path for Scotland’s future”.

He added: “I’m ready to seize that opportunity.”

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Liam Kerr

Mr Kerr, 49, has been the MSP for North East Scotland since 2016.

Mr Kerr previously served as depute leader of the Scottish Tories between 2019 and 2020 and is currently the shadow cabinet secretary for education and skills.

He announced his bid last week.

In a video shared online on Wednesday, he said with “vision, unity and integrity”, he believes his party can plot a “realistic path to power” and deliver for the people of Scotland.

Mr Kerr said: “Now that the threat of separation has receded, in the 2026 election the people need to see our vision of the Scotland of the future.

“One in which our children leave school having been taught a proper curriculum, by teachers who are given the respect they deserve.

“Going into a job, an apprenticeship, a fully funded and properly resourced college and university sector, and a thriving economy unhindered by eyewatering taxes, red tape and barriers to aspiration.”

The MSP said there needs to be a “laser focus” on Scotland’s rural and coastal communities, which should “reduce pressures” on the country’s health service and justice systems.

Mr Kerr added: “That’s holistic thinking, not silo thinking.

“I came late to politics after work as a chef, a salesman, a lawyer.

“I’ve been a self-employed painter and decorator, session musician, and I’ve set up and run two companies.

“These underpin my Conservative beliefs – fiscal responsibility, the value of entrepreneurialism, a strong economy, but also individual liberty and practical solutions and policies rather than slavish adherence to ideology.

“These experiences, plus what I learned during my MBA studies, mean I know what leadership is.”

Mr Kerr said the Scottish Tories will achieve more if “united”, which means gelling his “excellent MSP colleagues”.

He added: “It means listening to their ideas, those of the members of our party, elected officials in any form, and both those who support us and those who don’t.

“And it means having a proven track record of working cross-party in Holyrood to succeed.”

The MSP said the party must earn the trust of the people of Scotland.

He added: “Vision. Unity. Integrity. That’s what I offer. I simply ask for the opportunity to serve as leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.”

Jamie Greene

Mr Greene, 44, has been the MSP for West Scotland since 2016.

The former frontbencher has pledged to fix a “broken” Holyrood and “restore optimism to our politics”.

His three-part mantra to “fix politics, fix the party, fix Scotland” is his effort to reset the Conservatives’ approach after the last election.

Mr Greene announced his candidacy this week.

In a video filmed in his hometown of Greenock, the MSP revealed “life was pretty tough” growing up.

He said: “But it’s that sense of unfairness that got me into politics in the first place.

“The Scottish parliament is now 25 years old, and I think it’s failing a whole generation of young Scots on all counts – on the quality of its debate, on the endless screw ups and scandals.

“People have lost faith in politics and the politicians. They’re pissed off and I don’t blame them. We’ve got to fix that.”

Mr Greene said the Scottish Tories “cannot change Scotland” until the party is “running Scotland”.

To “fix politics”, the divisions of the past must be “yesterday’s arguments”.

He said: “I think people just want some decency back into their politics.”

To “fix the party”, the MSP said the new leader must not just appeal to members, but also to potential voters who have never backed the Scottish Tories before.

Mr Greene said: “That’s how we not just survive, that’s how we win.”

And to “fix Scotland”, he said the party should be supporting start-ups, new businesses and the next generation of young Scottish entrepreneurs.

The MSP added: “Getting people on the property ladder, fixing the NHS, and yes, stopping that needless loss of life to drugs and alcohol abuse.”

Pointing to one of the over-budget and delayed ferries being built by Ferguson Marine, he said: “To build these bloody ferries and many more of them.”

Mr Greene vowed to recruit new members and voters as he urged his party to change and “take some risks”.

He added: “Because if we don’t, we will not survive. And I need your help to do this.”