'Massive unhappiness': Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay feels the squeeze

The rise of Reform and internal unhappiness are causing problems for the Scottish Tory leader

Russell Findlay has a fight on his hands. And not just because polls show his party shedding votes to Reform.

The Scottish Tory leader is also facing internal unhappiness over claims he is pursuing a populist, headline-driven approach aimed at appealing to those tempted by Nigel Farage.

Last week, Jamie Greene, a West Scotland MSP, quit the Tory group in Holyrood, accusing it of resting its hopes on "a Reform-lite agenda". The following day, he joined the Scottish Liberal Democrats, appearing on stage at the party's conference in Inverness.

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay | PA

"My inbox is literally chock-a-block with Conservative folk messaging me to say that they agree with me, which is really interesting," he told The Scotsman.

Mr Greene insisted he is the least of the party’s worries. “I'm a drop in the ocean compared to some of the bigger problems they have right now,” he added.

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Mr Findlay is being squeezed by Reform on one side, and more moderate Conservative voices on the other.

One Tory MSP claimed there is “massive” unhappiness within the Holyrood group. "The overall approach from Russell and his team is very much populist, headline-driven,” they said. “It's not evidence-based.

"As much as the policy framing can be described as a bit more right wing, I think people could cope with that if it was based on more traditional right-wing policies, but actually there's no thought gone into much of this. It's just cheap headline grabbing.”

The MSP highlighted a recent Scottish Tory proposal to cut the school leaving age to 14 or 15, with some children instead fast-tracked into college or an apprenticeship.

"Some things have just been completely lampooned by stakeholders, like the 14-year-olds leaving school,” they said.

"They way it was designed wasn't credible. There is a credible argument in there, but it's like they don't care about presenting that. It's just about column inches, which it achieved."

They added: "It's legitimate for any leader to take any party in the direction that they wish. Russell's got the mandate to do that. But it's the cheap, gimmicky way of going about it that is a further problem."

The MSP believes Mr Findlay and his team are using Reform as “cover” to pursue an agenda they would be following anyway. But in his resignation letter last week, Mr Greene said his former party was in a "grotesque dance with Nigel Farage".

These criticisms are rejected by others within the Tory group in Holyrood. One MSP said there are around half a dozen unhappy members, none of whom wanted Mr Findlay to become leader in the first place.

The rise of Reform cannot just be ignored, they argued. “This is not just having a stab in the dark,” the MSP said. “There’s a strategy behind what we are trying to do.”

They argued colleagues need to “keep their heads and not just panic and throw their rattles out the pram”, adding: “When the going gets tough, you need to put your shoulder to the wheel, not just have a good old moan.”

The public, they said, do not like divided parties.

At any rate, there is no sign the Scottish Tory leadership is contemplating a change of direction.

On Sunday, the party shared a post on Instagram criticising the SNP’s “nonsense gender self-ID policy”. Mr Greene backed the SNP’s gender reforms, and a Tory source previously accused him of becoming a “poster boy” for the Scottish Government.

Such personal briefings are still a source of anger among some in the Holyrood group. "Sandesh Gulhane is sitting in the shadow cabinet with the same views on gender as Jamie, so how does that square up?” the unhappy MSP quoted above asked.

Divisions within the party erupted during last year’s leadership election, in which Mr Findlay was accused of being the “establishment” candidate, an accusation he denied.

Douglas Ross, the party’s former leader, was sometimes criticised for relying on a small group of advisers rather than listening to his MSPs, and there is some concern that trend has continued under his successor.

Meanwhile, a steady trickle of Tory councillors have been defecting to Reform. One recent poll put Mr Farage’s party on course to win 14 seats at the Holyrood election next year.

Those around Mr Findlay are philosophical about recent events. As one quipped last week, it wouldn’t be the Scottish Tory Party without drama.

A party spokesman said: “Under Russell Findlay’s leadership, we’ll continue to unashamedly promote the values of mainstream Scotland and rebuild trust with disillusioned voters.

“Russell is holding this failing SNP Government to account and challenging Holyrood’s cosy left-wing consensus at every turn and standing up for people who just want their politicians to speak some common sense for a change.”

At a lunch for the Journalists' Charity on Friday, former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson lavished praise on Mr Findlay, whom she backed in last year’s leadership contest.

He is “the finest that we have among the MSP group”, she said, adding: “I think his personal qualities, his integrity is incredibly strong, and I think the more the public see of him, the more they are going to like him.

“I don’t doubt he has challenges on his plate. I have to say not being head of the Scottish Tory Party has taken years off me. It’s a delight not to be head of the Scottish Tory Party any more, and it is a challenging role.

“But in terms of somebody who has got the abilities, the grit, the nous, the common touch, the human touch, the empathetic touch, the communication skills to do the job, Russell absolutely does, 100 per cent.”

With the next Holyrood election a little over a year away, and some within his own party increasingly disillusioned, Mr Findlay can only hope she is right.