SNS GroupRuth Davidson has given her backing to Russell Findlay to become the next leader of the Scottish Conservatives.
The former party leader, who quit in 2019, announced her support for the frontrunner on Thursday as she firmly rejected plans by a rival candidate to stage a commission on the party’s future.
Baroness Davidson, who now sits in the House of Lords, said the idea put forward by veteran MSP and leadership contender Murdo Fraser is a “Trojan horse plan to split the party by stealth”.
She said such a commission would see the Scottish Tories “loosening ties” with the UK party.
She said it would be “entirely the wrong approach to take”.
Writing in the Scottish Daily Mail, Davidson said: “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.”
In the same column, Davidson announced her backing for Findlay, saying he had the “vision, the grit, the ability and the support to take the fight to the SNP”.
The baroness 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”.
But she said: “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?”
She said the Tories need “fresh leadership” so they can “reconnect” with those voters “who may have drifted away over recent years”, adding: “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.”
Taking to social media on Thursday morning, Fraser said: “Thanks to all those new supporters pledging their backing after last night’s @ScotTories hustings in Galashiels.
“Not being the establishment candidate, I am relying on the votes of individual members, and am hugely thankful to those responding to my case for real change.”
Baroness Davidson declared her support after ballots for the leadership contest were sent out to Conservative Party members across the country.
Findlay is running against 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.
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