Scottish Conservative leadership contest: Who will replace Douglas Ross?

Douglas Ross announced he would step down as Scottish Conservative leader after the election.

Party bosses have been meeting this week to agree the process for doing so. The contest will run at the same time as the UK party seeks to replace Rishi Sunak as leader.

As with south of the border, there have been calls for an extended contest so the party has time to thoroughly consider its next steps.

Stephen Kerr MSP has said there is “no need” for a “quick coronation” in time for Holyrood’s return from recess in September, instead backing an interim leader for a period while the party takes the “opportunity to discuss the future”.

That of course hasn’t stopped the rumour mill from turning as to who might throw their hat into the ring… So, who are the likely candidates?

Russell Findlay

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The MSP for West Scotland is well-liked across the party, known for being a charismatic and confident speaker.

In what appeared to be a soft-launch of his bid to be the next leader (he has neither ruled himself in or out yet), Findlay wrote in the Daily Mail that is was time for a “fresh start” for his party.

He said it had spent too much time focused on opposing the Scottish Government and “not nearly enough time setting out the positive case for a modern, popular conservatism”. These values, he wrote, are based in “enterprise, self-reliance, fiscal responsibility and the rule of law”.

Before turning to politics in 2021, Findlay was a journalist for 30 years, working for STV, the Scottish Sun and Sunday Mail. He authored four non-fiction books on organised crime and drugs, including one in which he tells the story of how he was targeted by an acid attack at his own home in 2015.

In parliament he has campaigned on issues of justice and has been a prominent critic of the SNP’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill, particularly in relation to the exploitation of gender self-ID by sex offenders. He is currently deputy convener of the Criminal Justice Committee and shadow cabinet secretary for justice.

Meghan Gallacher

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Deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives and representative for Central Scotland, Gallacher, age 32, is the youngest MSP in the party. While considered a rising star, her age may count against her as some party insiders say she is not yet ready for the role.

Gallacher was first elected as councillor for Motherwell West in 2017 and then to Holyrood in 2021. She has been at the forefront of the 2024 election campaign.

Ross has described her as having “a bright future in our party”, and she led its opposition to gender recognition reform. She was previously the party’s spokesperson for children and young people, but hasn’t held a portfolio since June 2023.

Murdo Fraser^{Credit: Alamy}

Fraser is thought to be considering a second tilt at becoming Scottish Tory leader, having been beaten back in 2011 by Ruth Davidson. Before that he was deputy leader under Annabel Goldie.

He has not said whether he intends to go for it, but both Davidson and former backer Liz Smith MSP expect him to do so. Back in 2011 he ran on a platform of putting some distance between the Scottish and UK Conservative parties – still working together, but ensuring the Holyrood group has a distinct and separate identity.

Fraser was a solicitor in Aberdeen and Edinburgh before he stood as the Conservative candidate for North Tayside in the 1999 Scottish Parliament election. He did not win but became an MSP in 2001 for Mid-Scotland and Fife after Nick Johnston resigned. He has therefore sat in every session of the parliament despite not being a 99er.

He is currently shadow business, economic growth and tourism secretary.

Craig Hoy

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Hoy fronted much of the election campaign since Ross’s resignation announcement, alongside Gallacher, as the Scottish Conservative chairman.

Asked whether he would seek nomination to become the next Scottish Tory leader, Hoy did not rule himself out. But he also has a role to play in setting the rules of the leadership contest and there have been calls for him to step back from participating in those meetings over concerns of conflicting interests.

The MSP for the South Scotland entered the Scottish Parliament in 2021. Before his start in politics, Hoy had a 25-year career in media and business working for organisations such as Dods and the BBC – and was even founding editor of Holyrood.

Jamie Greene

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Elected as MSP for the West Scotland region in 2016, Greene has held multiple roles in the Scottish Conservatives including party spokesperson on justice and education.

He was reshuffled out the shadow cabinet last year and replaced by Findlay. Greene believed the move was due to his support for the controversial gender recognition reforms, which were opposed by most Conservative MSPs.

He expressed an interest in standing for leader in 2020 but ultimately decided against doing so and instead backed Jackson Carlaw.

Writing in The Times after the election, he called for a “real and meaningful conversation” about the future of his party. He warned not doing so would “risk political extinction”. He added: “There is little appetite for a reactionary lurch to the right in Scotland, but the status quo is equally unappealing.”

Maurice Golden

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The North East MSP is currently weighing up his options – he replied to a message from Holyrood asking if he was standing with a thinking-face emoji!

Golden first entered Scottish Parliament in 2016 after a career advocating for the environment and circular economy. He has been a thorn in the side of the Scottish Government on these issues and played a leading role in holding it to account over the now-junked deposit return scheme. But he’s also not been afraid of criticising his own party on the issue, accusing former prime minister Rishi Sunak of make net-zero ambition “the territory of culture wars”.

He believes the direction of the Scottish Tories should be away from the constitution – a view he’s held since before the general election. He told the Sunday Post: “In future elections, we need to be talking about all of the issues that matter to people. It’s about being distinctive. What are we going to do to be transformational on health, education, justice and climate change?”

He is considered to be a part of the same wing of the party as Greene and the two have been close allies on the backbenches – so expect only one of them, if either, to stand.

The Wild Cards

What a lengthier election might do is encourage a broader array of candidates to stand, either to increase their profile or to widen the debate.

A short-lived former leader and deputy under Davidson, Jackson Carlaw is perhaps unlikely to reprise his old role. But then, this is Scottish politics and weirder things have happened.

Sue Webber, an Edinburgh MSP, is thought to be quite ambitious. She has been an MSP since 2021 and was a councillor before that. She was also one of four MSPs who recently stood as an MP (and lost) so she will no doubt have plenty to share on why that is. 

Likewise for Sandesh Gulhane. A practicising doctor, he is the party's health spokesperson and also quite ambitious. But he has little experience outside of that health role and has only been in politics since 2021.

Miles Briggs is well-liked within the party and has a reputation as a strong constituency MSP. That might not translate to leadnership ambitions though, and Briggs has not been on the frontbech since 2021.