Liam Kerr and Jamie Greene join race to be Scottish Tory leader

Liam Kerr and Jamie Greene have both announced they are running to be the next Scottish Conservative leader.

The two MSPs join Russell Findlay, Brian Whittle and Meghan Gallacher in the contest.

Kerr has said he would set a “realistic path to power” going into the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.

Greene committed to a “radical shake-up” of the party to ensure it was no longer in “eternal opposition”.

Nominations for the contest open on Thursday and each candidate will require the support of 100 Scottish Conservative members by midday on 22 August to run.

Ballots will be posted to the membership in early September, with the vote closing on 26 September.

The winner will be announced the following day, on 27 September.

Kerr is currently the shadow education secretary and has been on the party’s frontbench since 2017 in a range of portfolios. He also previously served as deputy leader, alongside Annie Wells, under Jackson Carlaw.

Announcing his candidacy in The Telegraph, Kerr said his party must go into the next election “with a genuinely Conservative programme which gives them a reason to vote for us”.

He added: “Under my leadership, the Scottish Conservatives will start from the future: a 15-year vision of what a vibrant, prosperous UK and world-leading Scotland will be. At the centre of our agenda will be this question: what are we trying to achieve, and what does the Scotland that we all want look like?

“We must then work back from that vision and forensically examine how it can be achieved and show the electorate that it is Conservative philosophy and principles underpinning the realisation.”

Greene has previously served as shadow education secretary and shadow justice secretary but was removed from the frontbench in 2023. He linked this to his support for the Gender Recognition Reform Bill in late 2022 – he was one of just two Tory MSPs to back it.

Announcing his bid for leadership in The Herald, Greene wrote: “We have a fundamental choice; will we be the party of eternal opposition, or will we lay the foundations for Scotland’s first centre-right government?

“Any prospective leader promising gold will deliver brass. People will sit round the table and do deals with the party I lead. That’s how you achieve power in a proportional voting system. The success of centre-right governments is that they appeal to voters from the centre out, not the other way around.”

Gallacher, the party’s deputy leader, confirmed she was running last week. She said the contest provided “an opportunity for a reset – to renew our offering to the people of Scotland”.

Findlay said he is running to “overturn the stifling left-wing consensus” at Holyrood.

Whittle said his party had never been a “serious contender” for government and needed to become “more pro-active” to help change that image.

Craig Hoy and Graham Simpson have ruled themselves out from standing.