MURDO Fraser has said change is a "matter of survival" for the Scottish Conservatives as the three Tory leadership contenders have been confirmed.
Fraser will be running alongside Meghan Gallacher and Russell Findlay.
Fraser has already secured the backing of former leadership hopefuls Liam Kerr and Jamie Greene, who announced they were dropping their bids at his campaign launch in Perth on Thursday, shortly before nominations closed at noon.
He gave an affirmative reply to a journalist at the event asking whether he wanted the two remaining competitors to step aside and offer him a "coronation".
Speaking at the launch, Fraser pitched himself as a change candidate, saying: “These last few weeks have been immensely difficult for our party.
“We have seen concerning claims being raised about the conduct of the Scottish leader in relation to interference in at least two candidate selections.
“The last few weeks have proven that real change is an absolute necessity. It is a matter of survival for our party."
He has also pledged to hold an independent commission on the structure of the Scottish Conservatives if he wins the leadership.
After Douglas Ross announced his intention to resign, Fraser had suggested that the Scottish Conservatives should split from the party south of the Border.
However, on Thursday, he said that his view on the matter had now changed.
Asked directly by a journalist on Thursday if he was directly calling on Gallacher and Findlay to step aside in order to allow a coronation to take place, he replied "yes".
Another one of his competitors, Brian Whittle, withdrew from the race on Wednesday and backed him.
Fraser went on to say that there was "very little difference" between Labour and the SNP on many issues, and said that the Tories had an opportunity to draw in centre-right voters who currently support other parties.
Shortly after the campaign launch, he released a statement on the "coronation" comments.
He said: “I’ve always been opposed to a coronation, of myself or anyone else.
“I’m standing to give our members the fair and positive contest they deserve because our party must change.
“Our members should decide the next leader. Not any small group of people at Holyrood.”
