Newly elected Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said his party would make changes to “win back public trust”.
The former journalist easily beat his Scottish Parliament colleagues Murdo Fraser and Meghan Gallagher in the party membership vote.
The campaign follows the resignation of Douglas Ross, who announced his resignation as leader of Scotland at the general election.
Findlay said he would seek to represent those he “despises” due to the “fringe obsession” of the Scottish Parliament and believes politicians do not understand the concerns of ordinary voters.
The new leader has been the MSP for West of Scotland since 2021 and is the party’s justice spokesperson.
His election came amid occasional temper tantrums during the campaign, with one candidate complaining about party interference in the race.
A total of 4,155 out of a total of 6,941 eligible party members participated in the vote, with a turnout rate of 60%.
Findlay received 2,565 votes, Fraser received 1,187 votes and Gallagher received 403 votes.
The new leader said the party must come together as “a united team” after what he called a painful period.
“Let’s start working now to win back the public’s trust,” he said.
“I want to send this message to people across Scotland who feel unrepresented, who are despised by the divisive and fringe obsession of the Scottish Parliament, who feel let down and failed by politicians from every party, including ours, who they believe Politicians are all the same.
“I feel that way — I get it, but I’m different.”
PA averageFindlay said the party would change under his leadership.
“We will try to earn your trust by doing things differently,” he said.
“We will stand for Scotland’s mainstream values of decency and the values of hard work, self-reliance and delivering value for the taxpayer.”
He said voters wanted to see “common sense change” and he was determined to make that happen.
The party’s new leader now faces a busy few days.
On Saturday, the Scottish Parliament will hold a ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of devolution, with Findlay set to deliver a speech in front of the King and Queen.
He will then need to travel to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, where he will carry out a number of events.
Appointments to his frontbench team are expected to take place next week.
“It’s time to unite”
His opponents were quick to congratulate him on social media.
Murdo Fraser said he looked forward to working with Findlay “to deliver the change our party and Scotland need”.
“Now is the time to unite and move forward together,” he said.
Meghan Gallagher said members were “vocal” that the party must unite ahead of the next Holyrood election.
However, SNP MP Kevin Stewart said the “face of Scottish Conservative politics” may have now changed, but accused Russell Findlay of having no “desire to safeguard Scotland’s interests”.
He said: “The Conservative Party went into the party conference completely divided and distracted by internal strife.
“They finally succeeded in replacing one of their two lame duck leaders, but the defeated Rishi Sunak is still pulling the strings as the longest leadership battle in history continues into November. continue.
“Rearrange the lounge chairs”
Scottish Labor deputy leader Dame Jackie Bailey said this year’s election showed voters wanted change.
“After 14 years of disappointing Scotland, rearranging the deck chairs will not halt the Conservatives’ slide.
“The Conservatives still owe Scots an apology for gambling with their family savings, crashing the economy and sending bills soaring, while putting party before country.”
When Douglas Ross decided to run for the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat at Westminster, he announced his resignation as party leader to replace former MP David Duguid, who is recovering from a spinal stroke. David Duguid, leading to a leadership election.
Ross has previously said he would resign from Westminster to focus on the Holyrood parliament, a decision that angered MPs and party members.
He was forced to announce during the general election that he would step down as leader after polling day.
talking about BBC’s Good Morning Scotland Speaking on Friday’s radio program, election expert Professor Sir John Curtis said the campaign had been “unmanageable” after the party’s support gradually declined.
“We’re talking about a party that got just over 12.5% of the vote in the general election, its worst performance ever,” he said.
