The already acrimonious Scottish Conservative leadership contest has descended into chaos with calls for Douglas Ross to go now after allegations of a “grubby stitch up.”
The beleaguered party boss has insisted he will stay until his successor is elected next month, but he has been pilloried by five of the six candidates hoping to replace him.
Former leader Jackson Carlaw has also criticised Mr Ross, saying he should quit now to allow "propriety and order to be restored."
It followed reports that he had attempted to quit as leader more than a year ago and install Russell Findlay as his successor.
Mr Findlay - the favourite to replace Mr Ross - said he had "no knowledge" of this.
In a statement, he said he was “standing to change our party and recent developments underline why change is so necessary."
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The Telegraph reported that in July 2023, the MSP told the party’s general election candidate for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey that he wanted to replace her.
However, Kathleen Robertson, who is the leader of Moray council, rebuffed his request.
Insiders told the paper that at the meeting in Mr Ross’s house, he told the councillor “his heart was in Westminster, not Holyrood” and promised her she would be selected as the Tory candidate for the equivalent Scottish Parliament seat at the 2026 election.
When Ms Robertson asked Mr Ross who would replace him as leader he said he wanted Mr Findlay.
Ms Robertson made the party chair, Craig Hoy, aware of the conversation at the start of the year.
Early yesterday afternoon, Murdo Fraser, Jamie Greene, Liam Kerr and Brian Whittle signed a joint statement questioning the “transparency and fairness” of the process.
Just over an hour later, Meghan Gallacher quit as Mr Ross’s deputy saying she was “deeply troubled” by the allegation.
Ms Gallacher shared her resignation letter on social media. She said she was “completely unaware of discussions surrounding a candidate that took place in July 2023.”
“Following the story being published, there is a potential risk to the reputation of our party and the leadership contest moving forward,” she added.
She also said it was “regrettable” the leadership team had not contacted her in her position as deputy since the allegations came to light.
(Image: PA)
In their statement, Mr Fraser, Mr Whittle, Mr Kerr and Mr Greene said there were serious questions which “require to be answered before current leadership election proceeds further.”
The MSPs have asked the party’s candidates’ board if they knew Mr Ross had asked “a female candidate selected for a winnable target constituency” to stand aside for him and if they thought this was “an appropriate way in which to treat any candidate, not least a female?”
They also asked what action was taken after Ms Robertson reported the conversation to Mr Hoy and the party director and if his bid to have Mr Findlay replace him mean "the current leadership replacement process has been affected... in terms of fairness, scrutiny and transparency.”
The paper's report has also led to more unease over Mr Ross’s bid to stand for Westminster in the new Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency.
He replaced the incumbent David Duguid as the candidate after the party’s ruling Management Board declared him too ill to stand.
Mr Duguid - who has been recovering from illness in Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital Spinal Unit - has long insisted he was well enough to contest the election.
In their statement, the four men also asked if the Management Board knew when they took the decision not to permit Mr Duguid to stand as a candidate in the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East that Mr Ross “was seeking a way to remain as a Westminster MP, contrary to all the assurances he had given publicly and to colleagues.”
Taking to X, Mr Carlaw said as a former leader, he spoke “with both the Chairman and Douglas Ross and made plain my view that the current leader’s position is unsustainable.
“The responsibility to act and allow propriety and order to be restored is now clear and urgent.”
Following this & other developments & acting as a Former Leader, I spoke with both the Chairman & Douglas Ross & made plain my view that the current leader’s position is unsustainable.
— Jackson Carlaw (@Jackson_Carlaw) August 16, 2024
The responsibility to act & allow propriety & order to be restored is now clear & urgent. https://t.co/alveHzoUkG
Mr Ross then posted his own statement on X.
"When I announced on the 10th of June that I would be standing down, I confirmed I would stay on as leader until the party membership chose my successor. That will not change.
"We now have an agreed process in place and in just 42 days a new leader will be elected by the members from across the country.
"I have deliberately said nothing about any of the candidates or the process to maintain my neutrality during the contest, and again that will not change."
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “Just when you think that the UK Tory party has reached peak levels of incompetence, the Scottish Tories decide to implode in public.
“It is simply bizarre to see MSPs lining up to accuse the outgoing leader of attempting to organise a grubby stitch-up to install Russell Findlay.
“Scots deserve politicians that are dedicated to public service, but all the Scottish Tories offer is incompetence, self-indulgence and chaos.
“As the Tories continue to spiral towards irrelevance, only Scottish Labour is ready to take the fight to the SNP and deliver the change that Scotland needs.”
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