Ruth Davidson has backed Russell Findlay to be the next Scottish Tory leader as she warned a rival candidate wanted to split the Holyrood party away from UK bosses “by stealth”.
The former Scottish Tory leader warned against veteran MSP Murdo Fraser’s plans to stage a commission into the party’s future.
He faced criticism when he ran for leadership against Ms Davidson in 2011, suggesting at the time the Scottish Tories should break away from the party south of the border.
But the plans for a commission has softened the plans, with Mr Fraser stating any change suggested by it would need to be backed by a two-thirds majority of members.
Writing in the Scottish Daily Mail, Baroness Davidson said such plans would look at “loosening ties” with the UK party, which she insisted was the “entirely wrong approach to take”.
Baroness Davidson, who quit as party leader five years ago, said of the commission plans: “Does its proponent take our members for fools? Some have called it a ‘Trojan horse’ plan to split the party by stealth - which is exactly how I see it, too.”
She added: “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.”
Baroness Davidson, who has been in the House of Lords since 2021, went on to endorse Mr Findlay, describing him as the candidate with the “vision, grit, ability and the support to take the fight to the SNP.”
The endorsement comes as Mr Findlay has had to stave off criticism, including from his own leadership rivals, that he is the “continuity candidate” in the race to replace Douglas Ross.
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Speaking of Mr Findlay, Baroness Davidson wrote the former crime journalist “ticked all the right boxes”.
She said she found it “depressing” that the “uplifting message of hope” and positivity she achieved during her own leadership had vanished.
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.”
Her support comes as Scottish Tory members received their ballots to select a new leader.
Mr Findlay is running against Mr Fraser and former Scottish Conservative deputy leader Meghan Gallacher to succeed Mr 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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