Jamie Greene MSP quits 'Reform-lite' Conservatives

Former Scottish Conservatives leadership hopeful Jamie Greene MSP has quit the party, accusing it of abandoning the centre ground for a "Reform-lite agenda".

Greene, who represents the West Scotland region, said the party is at risk of becoming "Trump-esque in both style and substance".

Greene said: "I do not believe that I have left the Conservative Party. I believe that the party has left me."

The move will come as a blow to Scottish party leader Russell Findlay and comes on the back of numerous defections of Tory councillors to Reform.

Greene's exit from the party had been the subject of rumours for some weeks and takes the Scottish Parliament's Tory bloc to 30 MSPs.

In a letter to Findlay, he said: "Chasing the votes of Reform party supporters will never see the Scottish Conservatives in government; there simply aren’t enough fringe right-wing Scottish voters to achieve that."

Greene, a vocal supporter of the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, went on: "Instead of proudly leading on equality, we now run the very serious and immediate risk of becoming once again the party of social division and morality wars.

"A cursory glance at our social media output confirms this fear. My generation of Conservative politician helped put the 'Nasty Party' name in the bin—but it now appears that it was just filed away in a drawer marked pending."

Greene said he was "not alone in feeling this way, although I am perhaps one of the first to say so publicly", adding: "I cannot be part of a narrative which has become Trump-esque in both style and substance."

Findlay said "losing any colleague is disappointing" but stood by his stewardship of the party.

He said: "When I was elected, I promised to take the party in a new direction and said that we needed to be different.

"I promised change and I keep my promises, so I will keep standing up for the common-sense values of mainstream Scotland and opposing the damage caused by Holyrood's left-wing consensus.

"I'll continue taking a strong stance against the SNP on tax, gender self-identification, and the damage they’ve done to Scotland's schools.

"Others may believe it's best to let the SNP have their way. I will always oppose their dangerous agenda and put forward a proud conservative vision of a different Scotland."