Scottish Tories have lacked a positive vision for years, warns leadership front runner

The Scottish Tories have failed to set out a “positive vision” for Scotland for years, a front runner to become the party’s next leader has said.

Russell Findlay, the party’s justice spokesman, said the Conservatives had a chance for a “fresh start” in Scotland and they needed to do a better job of setting out their values to voters.

While he is yet to confirm he is running, Mr Findlay is widely expected to be a candidate in the race to succeed Douglas Ross.

Murdo Fraser, the veteran MSP who has previously proposed replacing the Scottish Tories with a new centre-Right party, is seen as the other front runner should he declare his candidacy.

In an article for the Scottish Daily Mail, seen as an initial leadership pitch, Mr Findlay said activists had confided in him during the general election campaign that they had “rightly” been concerned about “a lack of positive vision stretching back years”.

‘Fundamental lesson’

He added: “So that’s another fundamental lesson which needs to be taken on board and acted upon, and urgently.

“The simple truth is that over recent years the Scottish Conservatives have focused too much on what we are opposed to, and spent not nearly enough time setting out the positive case for a modern, popular conservatism. That must change.”

Mr Findlay, a former journalist, is seen within the party as the favoured choice of the current hierarchy to become the next leader.

He said that the party had previously been defined by opposition to independence, but must now set out an aspirational vision centred around principles of personal responsibility and hard work.

“To most people, that sounds reasonable,” Mr Findlay said. “But it is anathema to many politicians in the Scottish parliament.

“They know how to spend vast sums of taxpayers’ money, but hardly give a passing thought to where it comes from or the hard graft of those who generate it.”