Don’t let race for leadership descend into mudslinging – McLetchie

FORMER Scottish Conservative leader David McLetchie has called on candidates to “temper their language” in the party’s increasingly bitter leadership contest.

The Tory grandee’s intervention came after a series of high-profile attacks on controversial proposals from leadership election front-runner Murdo Fraser, for a breakaway centre-right party.

Mr McLetchie stepped into the row after Sir Jack Harvie, who raises the bulk of the £1 million annual funds for the Scottish Conservatives, warned that the “arrangement would most certainly not apply” if Mr Fraser’s proposals for a renamed breakaway party were approved.

The former Tory leader described Mr Fraser’s plans for a split from the UK Conservatives as “interesting and challenging”, but said supporters needed to be reassured about what level of support the new party would offer to David Cameron’s government at Westminster.

Mr McLetchie said he had not decided whether he would publicly declare for any of the three candidates Mr Fraser, Glasgow list MSP Ruth Davidson, or transport spokesman Jackson Carlaw.

Mr McLetchie said the “jury is out” on the proposals to rebrand the party, as he appealed for an end to the internecine fighting that has dominated the Scottish Tories leadership race.

He said: “It’s interesting and challenging, but it needs to be thought through. People will want to be reassured that a new centre-right party would still be instinctively Conservative and Unionist, as well as supporting a Conservative government at Westminster.

“I certainly want to see the contest conducted in a good spirit, and we have to remember that whoever wins we have got to move on from there.

“We don’t want to get into mudslinging. People should temper their language and no-one should question the good faith of other candidates.”

Mr McLetchie went on to say that, “having created the initial stushie”, it was now incumbent on Mr Fraser to provide further information on the timetable.”

In a separate development yesterday, Mr Carlaw was pitched as a candidate to “unite the party” by leading QC Paul McBride, a prominent Tory supporter.

But Mr Fraser was handed a major boost when senior Tory MSP Dr Nanette Milne, former MP Peter Duncan and the recently retired Tory MSP and former TV broadcaster Ted Brocklebank all backed his leadership bid.

Mr Fraser yesterday told The Scotsman that if he were elected as leader, the renaming of the party would be “resolved” by the end of 2012.

But rival candidate Mr Carlaw, who sought to present himself as the unity candidate, said: “Murdo’s proposal has polarised opinion, and while I have huge admiration for Ruth’s potential, she doesn’t have the experience that I have.”

The West of Scotland MSP’s leadership bid was supported by Mr McBride. Celtic FC’s QC, who said he was the only candidate “trying to unite the party”.

Yesterday Ms Davidson, who is due to launch her leadership campaign officially in Edinburgh tomorrow, said: “It’s right that everyone can have an honest and open debate about the issue facing the party, but it’s also right that we should stick to parliamentary language.”