Douglas Ross hits out at ‘calculating’ Tory colleagues

Mr Ross was reportedly asked at an Edinburgh Festival event with journalist Graham Spiers if the leader of the Scottish Tories had to be a “calculating bastard”.

He replied: “I was going to say some of the ones that won’t be leader of the Scottish Tories are calculating bastards.

“But look, all politics is rough and tumble at times.”

The Tory leader added: “You’ve got to be aware of what you’re getting yourself into. And I think maybe even I was not quite as aware of the full intensity of being a party leader.”

The contest to replace Mr Ross was rocked last week by reports that he asked Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey candidate Kathleen Robertson in July 2023 if he could replace her, and told her that he wanted Mr Findlay to replace him.

At the event in Edinburgh, Mr Ross disputed aspects of the reporting but not that he suggested Mr Findlay could replace Ms Robertson.

While he said several names came up in a conversation about a potential successor, he did not deny backing Mr Findlay.

MSPs Meghan Gallacher, Liam Kerr, Jamie Greene and Murdo Fraser are also in the running to replace Mr Ross, with the winner of the contest to be announced on 27 September.

A sixth candidate, Brian Whittle, withdrew from the contest on Tuesday and endorsed Mr Fraser.

Ms Gallacher resigned as the Scottish party’s deputy leader over the allegations that Mr Ross had backed Mr Findlay as his successor last year, describing them as “concerning”.

Meanwhile, Scottish Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr – who has publicly backed Mr Fraser – accidentally made public WhatsApp messages in which he described Mr Fraser’s campaign as “awful” and said that “I’m beginning to wish I’d nominated Meghan”.