Scottish Tories to announce leadership contest rules next week as UK party confirms long race

The Scottish Conservatives will decide the process of electing a new leader next week, following the UK party’s decision to run its own leadership election through autumn.

Russell Findlay is so far the only Tory MSP to declare he is running for the job, though several others are rumoured to be considering doing so.

Running on a platform of “leadership for change”, Findlay has said he would seek to “overturn the stifling left-wing consensus” at Holyrood. He has received the backing of Rachael Hamilton, Miles Briggs and Douglas Lumsden.

Meghan Gallacher, Maurice Golden, Graham Simpson, Liam Kerr and Murdo Fraser are among those mulling bids.

The new leader will likely lead the party into the 2026 Holyrood election. Current polling suggests it will lose seats.

The party’s management board will set out the timetable and procedures for the contest after meeting next Wednesday evening.

It is expected the Scottish party will look to move faster than its UK counterpart, which will not have a new leader in place until 2 November.

The 1922 committee of backbench MPs agreed the process for finding its new UK leader on Monday night.

Nominations open on Wednesday and candidates will have to get the backing of ten fellow MPs by next Monday.

The slate will be whittled down over the summer, with a four-way hustings to take place at the party conference in Birmingham at the end of September. MPs will then cut that list down further, with a vote between the top two candidates going to the party membership.

Rishi Sunak is to remain acting leader throughout the contest.

James Cleverley, Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat, Priti Patel and Robert Jenrick are all expected to announce their candidacies shortly. Other MPs are also likely to throw their hat in the ring.