Scots Tory leadership candidate insists he is not an ‘establishment candidate’
Russell Findlay said colleague Murdo Fraser’s questioning of his candidacy was ‘fanciful, to say the least’.
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Your support makes all the difference.A Scottish Conservative leadership candidate has insisted he is not an “establishment candidate” after his colleague posed the question on television.
Speaking on a special episode of Scotland Tonight on STV, candidates Russell Findlay, Murdo Fraser and Meghan Gallacher gave their reasons why they should be at the helm of the party, with current leader Douglas Ross due to step down.
A vote for Scottish Conservative members will open on September 4 and will run until September 26, with the new leader to be announced the following day.
On Monday evening, the three candidates appeared before host Colin Mackay, and Mr Fraser asked if Mr Findlay was an “establishment candidate”, citing the support he has been given by Mr Ross as his choice to take over, as well as a number of fellow Tory MSPs who have backed him.
Mr Fraser asked: “Russell, you say you’re standing for change in this election, that you’ve been backed by all the people who’ve run this party for the last number of years.
“If reports are correct you’re even backed by Douglas Ross as his preferred successor.
“So are you just the establishment candidate who is going to stop the change our members want to see?”
Mr Findlay said: “That’s a curious charge. I am not a career politician, I’ve got a life outwith the Holyrood bubble.
“I spent almost 30 years working as a journalist, helping people across Scotland, understand their needs, and that’s why I actually bring a fresh perspective to politics.
“The thought of framing me as some kind of establishment character (is) fanciful, to say the least.”
Mr Mackay later asked Mr Findlay: “Murdo Fraser said earlier you were the establishment candidate. Are you the continuity candidate?”
Mr Findlay replied: “Murdo Fraser, who has been a politician for almost a quarter of century – I think it’s a bit of a strange take to give me that label.
“In terms of the blue-on-blue stuff, I maintained throughout this the absolute focus for a positive campaign, talking about what the people of Scotland want to hear about: education, the economy, the health service, that’s what’s important to people, not internal wranglings.”
Ms Gallacher also criticised infighting within the party.
The three candidates were also quizzed by Mr Mackay on drugs in Scotland, with the host asking them if they had every used illicit substances.
Neither Ms Gallacher nor Mr Findlay answered the question, and Mr Fraser said he “once smoked a joint in college”, adding that it “did nothing” for him.