Scottish Conservatives to have new leader within weeks despite calls for delay

The next Scottish Tory leader will be in post within two months after party chiefs rejected calls to delay the campaign.

Scottish Conservative officials have announced that nominations will open next Thursday, and Douglas Ross’s successor will be in place late next month.

It means the new Scottish leader will begin work much sooner than the successor to Rishi Sunak, with the appointment of the new UK leader not due to be announced until November.

The Scottish Tory party management board rejected calls from a series of MSPs for a longer campaign period and for Mr Ross to be replaced by an interim leader.

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy, who sits on the management board, said: ‘Following a two-week consultation with members and elected representatives, the management board met to agree the rules and timetable for the leadership election.

‘We look forward to an open contest where candidates will be able to outline their plans and policies at hustings to be held around Scotland in the coming weeks.

‘Once candidates have had the opportunity to set out their stalls, a full ballot of our members will determine the next leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.’

Mr Ross, who announced early in the general election campaign that he would stand down when a new leader is appointed following a backlash at his decision to stand as a candidate in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, did not attend the meeting when the timescales and rules for the contest were agreed.

Nominations will open next Thursday, August 8, and close at midday on August 22.

A series of hustings will then take place across the country, including a digital event.

Ballot papers will be posted to members on September 4, with the vote closing at midday on September 26 and the winner being announced the following day.

It means that a new leader will be announced before the Conservative annual conference in Birmingham, which gets underway on September 29.

The conference is expected to be dominated by the race to be the next UK leader of the party.

Former journalist Russell Findlay, the party’s justice spokesman, and former athlete Brian Whittle, a deputy business spokesman, have both confirmed they intend to stand in the Scottish contest.

A series of other MSPs are considering putting their names forward, including deputy leader Meghan Gallacher, former justice and education spokesman Jamie Greene and former economy spokesman Maurice Golden.

Long-serving MSP Murdo Fraser has not yet confirmed if he will put himself forward as a candidate. Last week, he said an independent commission should be set up by the next leader to consider whether the Scottish Tories should split from the UK party for Holyrood elections.

Anyone seeking to become a candidate must first secure 100 nominations from party members.

The new leader will be chosen through a preferential voting system, where members rank candidates in order of preference.

Supporters of early favourite Mr Findlay had called for the starting gun to be fired on the contest as quickly as possible, while some MSPs pushed for a delay.

Following yesterday’s announcement, Mr Findlay said: ‘I’m looking forward to a positive contest about our party’s future.

‘Change is coming in Scotland. I want us to lead it - and to do so as proud and passionate Conservatives.

‘I’m standing to unite our party behind a common-sense Conservative platform with aspiration and opportunity at its heart.

‘I want to invite everyone to join my campaign to build a modern, dynamic and member-led party that can deliver the electoral success that conservative Scotland needs.’

Mr Greene said: ‘My immediate reaction was that they may as well just hand the keys to the leader’s office to their preferred candidate now, and we can all have a nice summer.

‘But the race to save the party’s future is now formally on, although it’s a strange race given that one of runners appears to have left the starting blocks early.

‘If the party was serious about a meaningful member-led discussion about its future it wouldn’t be cramming that hugely important debate into a two-week window during the school holidays.

‘It makes running a viable alternative campaign to the current offering of the failed status quo very difficult. I am consulting with colleagues and will make a decision about my own position over the weekend.’

Stephen Kerr, a former Scottish Tory chief whip, previously called for nominations to be delayed until September and for the result to be declared in the final fortnight of October.

Mr Greene also demanded that Mr Ross is removed as leader during the contest and replaced by an interim leader ‘to ensure we have a steady and cohesive ship over the coming months and to oversee current activities fairly’.

During a two-week consultation, some MSPs had called for a much longer process.