Whoever becomes the new leader of the Conservatives in Westminster will be hoping talks of a separate Holyrood party will now disappear.

An air of excitement centred around Russell Findlay, the new leader of the Scottish Tories, during his appearance at Conservative conference in Birmingham.

In part, perhaps, because the main party in Westminster will not have a new leader until November, with Robert Jenrick, James Cleverly, Tom Tugendhat and Kemi Badenoch in the race to replace Rishi Sunak.

All four candidates were eager to make a public appearance to congratulate Mr Findlay as he addressed Scottish delegates on Sunday – and possibly even more eager to tell journalists just how great his win was.

Cleverly told Scottish media that Mr Findlay was a “natural leader”. Tugendhat was so impressed he promised he’d give him a cushy job in his Westminster shadow cabinet.

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Jenrick – widely considered the favourite – said his appointment could put to bed any suggestion the Scottish party might “fracture” away from its links to the party in Westminster.

The Tories, whether in Scotland or England, have always had a strong connection, tied together primarily by its focus on unionism.

But is this one change – a new leader – enough to put an end to the speculation of a split, or does Mr Findlay need to consider weakening ties with his Westminster colleagues?

The Scottish Tories are often described by their political opponents – mostly the SNP – as a “branch office” to their bosses in Westminster.

And divisions have certainly emerged in the last few years.

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In 2022, then-Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross called for ex-prime minister Boris Johnson to resign following the partygate scandal, much to the dismay of many party heavyweights in Westminster.

Mr Ross said at the time: “I don’t want to be in this position, but I am in the position now where I don’t think he can continue as leader of the Conservatives.

“I know from speaking to colleagues in the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament that there is significant unrest and concern about the actions that took place in Downing Street.”

Mr Ross was then described as a “lightweight figure” by former leader of the Commons and strong Johnson ally Jacob Rees-Mogg in an attempt to downplay the importance of the former Scottish Tory leader’s comments.

However, those comments had another meaning by many in politics. If the leader of the party in Scotland is a considered a “lightweight figure”, that surely doesn’t paint a strong picture of what senior Tories in Westminster thought of the Scottish party.

Following the general election, which ultimately led to the political demise of both Douglas Ross and Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Tories north and south of the border were damaged.

What followed was two divisive leadership contests, where in Scotland, the discussion of forming a separate party re-emerged.

Experienced Tory MSP Murdo Fraser first floated the idea in the 2011 leadership contest which was later won by Ruth Davidson. When he entered the race this time around, he had rowed back on this vision, instead proposing a commission to consider the link.

The idea of revisiting the discussion of a “reformed” or “distinct” party from Westminster was discussed again by former candidate Liam Kerr.

But with Mr Findlay ultimately the winner, he wants the Westminster and Holyrood parties to “stick together as a united party” but insisted there needs to be a “distinct Scottish identity”.

Having spent a few days in Birmingham for the Tory conference, it was clear to me that both Scottish and UK Tory politicians are trying to put on that united front.

That united front is far easier to maintain now that the Tories are in opposition. Scottish Tory MSPs are not punished by policy decisions or the actions of Conservative prime ministers.

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So the discussion of fragmenting the Scottish Conservatives away from their counterparts in the rest of the UK is likely to go quiet in the coming months.

Or at least until the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections, where, depending on the result, drastic measures may need to be considered.

On the other hand, Scottish Labour are now seeing the actions taken by a UK Labour Government hit their popularity.

There have also been long standing concerns about how expanding devolution in Scotland could impact whichever party is in government.

Blair McDougall, the Labour MP for East Renfrewshire told a fringe event organised by the Scottish Fabians at Labour conference in Liverpool that previous MPs felt threatened by devolution, whereas the new cohort see it as an opportunity.

He said: “The tale of the previous large group of Scottish Labour MP was of them feeling threatened by devolution because over several expansions of devolution, they felt their power and their prestige, perhaps, was being threatened. 

"And I think this group of Scottish Labour MPs view devolution as an opportunity, rather than a threat. I think that's incredibly important.”

It will be interesting over the coming months and years to see whether discussions of a Westminster and Scottish divide is locked only to the Tories, or whether UK Government decisions will open the debate to Labour MSPs.