Brian Whittle becomes second contender for Scottish Tory leadership

MSP Brian Whittle has become the second candidate to declare in the race for the Scottish Tory leadership.

Whittle – a former Olympic sprinter – announced his plans to stand to replace Douglas Ross on Monday.

Writing in the Scotsman, the West of Scotland MSP leaned heavily on his sporting background, saying the leadership contest was “when we decide how we pick ourselves up and prepare for the next race”.

His announcement follows fellow MSP Russell Findlay throwing his hat into the ring last week.

Russell Findlay MSP in the Scottish Parliament. Scottish Parliament

It comes after the party’s vote share collapsed in Scotland, nearly halving to 12.7%.

Ross, who has led the party since 2020, announced before the July 4 vote that he would step down as leader.

That came after anger within Tory ranks over his decision to stand for re-election as an MP, despite being an MSP and previously pledging to focus on Holyrood.

There was also a row about the leader replacing David Duguid as the candidate for the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat, with the party saying he was too sick to stand, although Duguid denies this.

It’s not yet clear when the official race to replace Ross will begin but whoever wins the top job will lead the opposition at Holyrood as the Parliament’s second-largest party.

Announcing his intentions, Whittle said the party had “never been a serious contender” to take over in Scotland in the 25 years of the Scottish Parliament.

“We can do better than that,” he added.

“As a party we must be more pro-active. It is not enough to respond to events. We must shape them.”

His candidacy, he said, has three “core principles” – education, enterprise and empowering people.

The party, he added, must also be willing to “tell hard truths”, adding: “A party that tries to be all things to all people will most likely end up being nothing to anyone.”

Whittle continued: “I’m not going to offer platitudes or quick fixes because that’s not what we need.

“The Scottish Conservatives can be an effective, pragmatic, and successful centre-right government in Scotland.

“The path to get there will not be quick or easy, but then again, few things worth doing are easy.”

The announcement comes as a senior MSP called for a commission to be established to look at the relationship between the Scottish Tories and the UK-wide party.

Murdo Fraser – who is not yet in the running but proposed splitting the parties during a tilt at the top job more than a decade ago – wrote in the Daily Telegraph that a “senior independent party figure” should be appointed to lead the probe, reporting after the 2026 Holyrood election.

Fraser has since stepped back from the plans he previously outlined in the 2011 race – which was won by Ruth Davidson – instead suggesting the Conservatives run in UK-wide elections but a new centre-right party fights in Holyrood polls.

“This would allow a detailed examination of all the issues, and allow all members to have their say,” he wrote.

“Crucially, this would avoid the impression that these matters are for any one individual to determine.

“Any questions of structural change are ones for the membership as a whole.”

But the position was almost immediately countered by Findlay, who said in a statement that splitting away from the UK party must be “off the table”.

He added: “Of course we should regularly review how our party works, as we have in the past. That is only sensible.

“However, in any future review, splitting the party must be off the table.

“We should not consider breaking away from the UK Conservative family or splitting off to form a new ‘Holyrood only’ party.

“The Scottish Conservatives need to focus on building a positive policy platform for 2026 and beyond, not endless debates about breakaway parties.”

The party is currently consulting with members on the form the leadership race should take.