A veteran Scottish Tory MSP has been accused of being distracted by ‘constitutional wrangling’ after proposing an independent commission to consider a breakaway party.
Murdo Fraser, who previously lost a leadership contest when he stood on a pledge to split the Scottish Tories from the UK party, yesterday confirmed he still wants to consider a separate party being set up at Holyrood.
He said an independent commission should consider the issue after the leadership contest, with any changes being introduced after the next Scottish Parliament elections in 2026.
But the move was condemned by party grandee Lord Michael Forsyth, who said MSPs should focus on reviving support rather than being ‘submerged in constitutional wrangling’.
Former Scottish Secretary Lord Michael Forsyth has urged Murdo Fraser to take his proposals to split the party ‘off the table’
Russell Findlay, the early favourite to be the next leader, also said a split must be ‘off the table’.
Lord Forsyth, a former Scottish Secretary, said: ‘We are the Conservative and Unionist Party and we should fight as a unionist party in all our elections on both sides of the border.
‘I just think it is a complete diversion from what is necessary, which is to build up our membership and our organisations in the constituencies and to set out what it is we believe in and how we will address the problems which are substantial and which are relevant to every family in the country.
‘Having just suffered a pretty catastrophic defeat, I think the last thing we should be doing is being submerged in constitutional wrangling and instead setting out a coherent reason on why people should support Conservatives who are concerned about education, health, law and order, defence and other issues.
‘Murdo is a really good guy and I would rather he was applying his mind to those issues which matter to most people, rather than thinking that simply by indulging in organisational change is going to make people rush out and vote Conservative in Scotland. It simply isn’t.’
Mr Fraser, a veteran MSP who lost to Ruth Davidson in 2011 and has not yet confirmed if he will stand in the contest, said his original proposal for a completely separate party similar to relations in Germany between the national Christian Democrats and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria was ‘too radical’ for most Tory members and he no longer supports it.
But he said a separate Canada-style model – which would see the UK Conservative and Unionist Party fight general elections in Scotland while a separate Scottish Tory party fights for seats at Holyrood – ‘potentially gives a “best of both worlds” scenario’.
He acknowledged the issue is ‘divisive’ and that it would be ‘impractical’ to make the changes before the next election in 2026, but still proposed a ‘detailed examination’ of the issue.
Murdo Fraser believes the Scottish Conservatives should be separate to the UK party
Mr Findlay, the current Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, said he would support a review of relations with the UK party but rejected any prospect of this considering a separate party.
He said: ‘Of course we should regularly review how our party works, as we have in the past. That is only sensible.
‘However, in any future review, splitting the party must be off the table.
‘We should not consider breaking away from the UK Conservative family or splitting off to form a new “Holyrood only” party.
‘The Scottish Conservatives need to focus on building a positive policy platform for 2026 and beyond, not endless debates about breakaway parties.’
If Mr Fraser opts against standing for the leadership, his proposal to set up an independent commission to consider a breakaway party at Holyrood is likely to be considered by another leadership candidate who favours the idea of a split.
Mr Fraser yesterday claimed that Jamie Greene, Liam Kerr and Mr Findlay have all previously said links between the UK and Scottish Tories should be examined.
Current deputy leader Meghan Gallacher, who is likely to stand in the leadership contest, said she fully supports the call for a commission to examine links between the UK and Scottish Conservatives and a ‘reset’ of relations – but highlighted an article in which she said she ‘can’t see any benefit from breaking away’.
Meanwhile, Brian Whittle, a former Olympian and current West of Scotland MSP, announced he will stand in the leadership contest, which he said should be ‘when we decide how we pick ourselves up and prepare for the next race’.
