A “CABAL” of Tory MSPs has reportedly held a series of secret meetings in a bid to prevent leadership race frontrunner Russell Findlay from winning the contest.
The meetings, which excluded continuity candidate Findlay, have been taking place for more than a month and involved up to 10 parliamentarians, The Sunday Times reported.
The group are said to be hostile to the current leadership and most have fallen in behind Murdo Fraser, who is putting himself forward as the change candidate.
There are now only three candidates in the race to succeed Douglas Ross: Fraser (below), Findlay and former deputy leader Meghan Gallacher, who quit citing concerns about Ross’s alleged attempts to pressure a General Election candidate to stand down to allow him a route back to Westminster.
Ross has stayed publicly neutral in the race but is said to have privately expressed support for Findlay’s candidacy.
Ross Thomson, the former Tory MP and MSP, told The Sunday Times: “The fact that these meetings have come to light proves the collusion that has happened behind the scenes, to trash the party, fuel grievance and deceive the members.
“We now know there is a cabal in the Scottish Conservative Party and they are all there for everyone to see.”
The paper has also revealed the findings of a new Norstat survey which found that Reform could be nipping at the heels of the Scottish Tories after the next Holyrood election.
The research put the Tories on course to return just 18 MSPs, down from 31, while Nigel Farage’s party could take eight, winning 9% of the vote in both constituencies and the regional list.
The Sunday Times reported that around half of the Scottish Tory Holyrood group believe the party needs a complete overhaul and view Findlay (above) as an obstacle to that as the “establishment” candidate.
It has been claimed that Fraser favoured as many candidates as possible running in a long race, with “anti-establishment” candidates running as a slate to pick up second and third preference votes from those opposed to Findlay.
Thomson said it had been “clear for all to see that every statement, tweet, campaign launch and opinion piece in a newspaper has been staged, co-ordinated and orchestrated, including outright personal attacks on colleagues”.
He added: “They think they have been clever but they have done huge damage to the party, turning what should have been an engaging leadership contest into a drama that has descended into a pantomime.”
