Tom Tugendhat would be ‘help not hindrance’ as next UK Tory leader, MSPs say

A group of eight Scottish Tory MSPs have backed Tom Tugendhat to be the party’s next UK leader, saying he would be a “help not a hindrance” north of the border.

The MSPs spoke out as the former security minister campaigned in Scotland in the race to succeed Rishi Sunak.

Those giving their backing to Tugendhat included Holyrood health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane and deputy health and care spokeswoman Tess White.

Scottish Conservative chief whip Stephen Kerr, net zero, energy and transport spokesman Douglas Lumsden and fellow MSPs Maurice Golden, Tim Eagle, Findlay Carson and Roz McCall also insisted Tugendhat should be the next UK leader for the Tories.

People want their leaders to be straight with them.

No games. No gimmicks.

This is why I’m running to be Leader of the Conservative Party. pic.twitter.com/uXZ22MGebk
— Tom Tugendhat (@TomTugendhat) July 25, 2024

Backing him, the MSPs said the Tonbridge MP and former army officer had campaigned regularly north of the border, adding he was the “only candidate” to understand the challenges facing Scotland, including in its crucial energy, fishing and farming sectors.

With him as leader, they argued the Tories would “always have a champion for the Union”, saying he would put Scotland’s priorities at the heart of Westminster.

In a statement, the eight MSPs said: “We are backing Tom Tugendhat to be our next UK party leader. We believe – indeed we know – that he is the best person for the job.”

They described Tugendhat as being a “leader to create a united party for our United Kingdom” and a “man of principle, service and duty”.

There are six candidates in the running to be the next leader of the Conservatives. UK Parliament

Adding he was “someone who says what he will do, then gets it done”, the MSPs said he was also “someone who gets Scotland, is a friend of Scotland, and is an asset to the party in Scotland”.

They added: “We need a UK leader who will be a help, not a hindrance, to the Scottish Conservatives in the battles ahead – Holyrood 2026 and the local elections the year after.

“We do not need a caretaker leader of the opposition, but someone capable and hungry to be the next prime minister for all of the UK. That leader is Tom Tugendhat.”

Six candidates are currently running to take over from Sunak as leader of the Conservatives, with Tugendhat up against former business secretary Kemi Badenoch, the ex foreign secretary James Cleverly, ex immigration minister Robert Jenrick, former home secretary Priti Patel and the shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride to be the next leader of the opposition.