Vote Reform, get SNP! Tories lose out af ter Farage splits Union vote
Findlay vows to remain as leader but, just as he feared, rivals help to hand power to Nats
RUSSELL Findlay yesterday said he was ‘disappointed’ with the Scottish Tory losses – but vowed to continue as leader.
His party saw its vote share plunge across the country and lose its position as the largest opposition party following mass losses.
But it managed to hold its three ‘blue wall’ seats in the south of Scotland and held off the SNP in Aberdeenshire West.
Among those losing their seats was former Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw, who was defeated by the SNP in Eastwood.
Mr Findlay blamed Reform UK for many of its losses – and said the party had helped the SNP in seats across the country.
He told the Mail: ‘This is not what we wanted, I am really disappointed to lose so many good colleagues from Holyrood, where we have been the only party with the professionalism and determination to stand up to the SNP.
‘What we’ve seen is what we warned would happen – many good candidates lost out to the SNP because of the Reform vote.
‘Reform have split the Union vote, as we warned would happen, and as a direct result of it standing in many of these seats, these constituencies will wake up to an SNP MSP, and I don’t think that was the intention of anyone who voted for Reform.’
Mr Findlay was elected as a result of his position as number one Tory candidate on the West Scotland regional list, a result which was aided by Mr Carlaw’s defeat in Eastwood due to the impact constituency results have on any party’s regional list outcome.
Asked if he remained committed to the job as leader, he said: ‘Absolutely. When Kemi [Badenoch] and I took over we both knew there would be no quick fix – this was a longterm project.
‘It was just under two years ago that our party suffered a terrible election result and we knew that we had to rebuild public trust.
‘We had to hold our hands up where we got things wrong and we had to come forward with ideas, show the people of Scotland and across the UK that we’re on their side,
‘This is not what we wanted’
understand there’s problems, and we have serious and credible plans to improve things for people across the country.
‘That’s what we are doing. It will be a slow and painful progress.’
Mr Findlay said the Tories ran a ‘professional, positive and honest’ campaign which highlighted a looming £5billion gap in public finances and the runaway benefits bill. He added: ‘The other parties might want to paper over the financial cracks but there is going to be a very imminent reckoning in Scotland’s public finances and we’ll take no satisfaction from being able to say “we told you so”.
‘But from day one at Holyrood we will ensure we are standing up for hard-working taxpayers, supporting Scotland’s business community and bringing the common sense that is so badly lacking from that place.’
He said he feared Reform’s surge will help the SNP because ‘Nigel Farage doesn’t care about Scotland and he can’t be trusted on the Union’.
Condemning Reform’s loss of nine candidates, who either resigned or were removed during the campaign, he said: ‘These people aren’t professional, they are not serious. Most of them are in it for themselves.
‘Our party, our MSPs, our candidates and activists are in it for the good of the country.
‘When people look at our track record they will see a party that was absolutely laser-focused on being an effective opposition to the SNP, curtailing some of their worst excesses such as gender self-ID, standing up for hard-working Scots.
‘We will continue to do so with the utmost professionalism and determination.’
Mr Findlay said he was not sure what the ‘Reform rabble’ stand for or whether they ‘will even get on with one another’.
He added: ‘I strongly suspect we are going to see a pretty dysfunctional group and I suspect that will be a gift to John Swinney, because John Swinney from day one was very quick to recognise that the advent of Reform – the one-man band of Reform – was the greatest ever gift to the SNP in many a year.’