Tom Tugendhat endorsed by group of eight Tory MSPs in Conservative leadership bid

Eight Scottish Conservative MSPs have backed Tom Tugendhat to become leader of the Conservative party. 

The group is comprised of Douglas Lumsden, Tim Eagle, Roz McCall, Stephen Kerr, Tess White, Maurice Golden, Finlay Carson and Sandesh Gulhane.  

“We are backing Tom Tugendhat to be our next UK party leader,” the group said in a joint statement. “We believe - indeed we know - that he is the best person for the job.”  

Tugendhat is the current shadow security minister, continuing the role he held in government under former prime ministers Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. The MP for Tonbridge is making his second run for party leadership after failing to win the contest in 2022 before endorsing Truss.  

In backing Tugendhat for leader, the group said he was the only candidate who has “spent the time needed to understand the challenges facing Scotland,” highlighting his record of attending the Scottish Conservative Party Conference and campaigning in the country.  

“It is an absolute privilege to have so many of my Scottish Conservative colleagues backing me to be the next leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party today,” Tugendhat said. “I am thrilled to have their support. Unionism is indivisible from Conservatism and as leader, I promise to always fight for the Union and deliver on the priorities of the Scottish people.” 

Tugendhat, who served in the Army in both Iraq and Afghanistan, has stated in recent weeks that he would be open to leaving the European Convention on Human Rights if it no longer fitted the interests of the UK. This is a change from his position in 2023 where he warned that leaving the ECHR would have negative consequences for the Good Friday Agreement which brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.   

Describing themselves as “proud champions of the Union,” the group said that it was vital that the next leader “understood that if Scotland failed, everyone across the United Kingdom would feel the consequences.” 

Tugendhat has enjoyed an Ipsos poll rating of 17 per cent when participants were asked if he would make a good leader of the Conservative party. This puts him three percentage points behind former foreign secretary James Cleverly and on level pegging with former home secretary Priti Patel.  

The group said that they want a leader who will “end the infighting in Westminster” and return the party to “traditional conservative values.” They highlighted Tugendhat’s record on voting against vaccine passports as evidence of this.  

The Tory MSPs also said they believe Scotland “rejected the SNP” at the general election and Tugendhat would “deliver on his promises” and “unite the party” before the 2026 Holyrood elections. 

Tugendhat is running against five other Tory politicians in the race to become the next leader of the Conservative party: Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick, Priti Patel and Mel Stride.