Interview: Margaret Mitchell, Scottish Conservative Leadership candidate

MARGARET Mitchell, a relatively unknown figure and the only back-bencher standing, may be the rank outsider in the contest to lead the party in Scotland. But the former primary school teacher from Coatbridge certainly has high hopes for her leadership challenge, which she has compared to Barack Obama’s iconic “Yes We Can” campaign that swept him to the US presidency three years ago.

Mrs Mitchell, whose biggest claim to fame was chairing Holyrood’s equal opportunities committee before the last election, told The Scotsman she was running a “no frills” campaign similar to Mr Obama’s – widely viewed as one of the most slick and successful in living memory.

The Central Scotland MSP said her lack of major financial backers and high-profile endorsements put her in a similar position to Mr Obama during his campaign, claiming he didn’t have any “big funders”. She said the former Illinois senator, who went on to become the first black US president, “just went out and said to people, if you support me, then vote for me”.

Mrs Mitchell’s comparison between her campaign and Mr Obama’s came as she backed the UK coalition government’s controversial plans for free schools, which involve stripping councils of their education powers.

The MSP said that if there was “a demand” in Scotland for free schools – one of Prime Minister David Cameron’s flagship policies – it should be an “option that’s available” to Scots.

Despite being known as one of the more amiable members at Holyrood, Mrs Mitchell was quick to attack her leadership opponents Murdo Fraser, Ruth Davidson and Jackson Carlaw, saying she had decided to stand in the contest only because she “could not stand back and watch the other candidates just talk to themselves”.

She also repeated a demand for a referendum on the provisions in the Scotland Bill that would allow Holyrood to increase income tax by 10p. She claimed “people will be incensed” about the proposal and called for a vote on the same day as next May’s local council elections.

Mrs Mitchell suggested she would be able to match Alex Salmond at First Minister’s Questions, saying she would pin him down on issues such as a lack of support for carers, mental health provision and support for special needs children in schools.

She said that, under her leadership, the Scottish Tories would see a “substantial increase” in their share of the vote at elections, suggesting the party could win support from SNP voters.

Mrs Mitchell said: “There’s now a gap in the market, as the SNP can no longer be used as a protest vote. People don’t want to vote Labour.

“We need a debate at the local government elections and, under my leadership, I’d be looking for a substantial increase in [the Tory vote].”

She also launched a further attack on her rivals in the leadership election, claiming there was “a lot of hype around the other candidates” who, she said, had spent lavishly on their campaigns.

Mrs Mitchell admitted her campaign finance was “well under” £10,000, and said it was coming from grass-roots party members.

She said: “I’m not worried about big donations. People in the party can’t be dictated to and directed in choosing the leader.

“I do say that there has been a lot of hype around the other candidates, but how much substance is there? The others have spent a lot of money on glossy brochures.

“My campaign is a no-frills one like the Obama campaign. Obama didn’t have any big funders. He just went out and said to people, if you support me, then vote for me.”

Mrs Mitchell said she was the “most experienced of all the candidates”, and she repeated her attack on Mr Fraser’s plans for a new Scottish centre-right party – a proposal, she said, he should have been raised during a review of the party in Scotland chaired by former minister Lord Sanderson last year.

However, she hinted that she could be a back-bench thorn in the side of Mr Fraser if he won and said he would still have a “lot to do to explain” the reasons for a split from the UK party, even if he was elected as leader next month.

She said: “Murdo would normally be well ahead, but he has shown a lack of political judgment to do what he has done in the leadership election.

“The other candidates have not appreciated that we’ve undergone a sea change in Scottish politics, with the SNP having a majority in the parliament.

“I’ve been in the party for over 40 years and started off in the Young Conservatives. I’m the most experienced of all the candidates.”

Mrs Mitchell said one of the key planks of her campaign was a demand for a referendum on the plan to allow Holyrood to increase income tax by 10p, which she said was a “vast amount of money”.

She said: “People will be incensed that politicians have decided through the Scotland Bill to allow tax rates to be increased by 10p. I want to see a referendum on that, as we’re talking about a vast amount of money.

“I want to see a referendum on the 10p tax power on the same day as the local elections.”

She also talked about her support for faith schools and claimed there was a “gap in the market” in Scotland for centre-right policies.

She said: “If there’s a demand for faith schools and independent schools, then by all means give the buildings to people.”

Name: Margaret Mitchell

Age: 58

Education: Coatbridge High School, Hamilton Teacher Training College and the School of Law at the University of Strathclyde.

Career: Primary school teacher in Airdrie and Bothwell from 1974 to 1990, then a non-executive director of Stonehouse and Hairmyres NHS Trust from 1993-97. Political career: From 1988 to 1996, she was a member of Hamilton District Council. She was elected as a Central Scotland list MSP in 2003, becoming the Conservatives’ deputy justice spokeswoman and later convener of the parliament’s equal opportunities committee.