New leader, new name… Tories rule out nothing in bid for Scots votes

• Michael Forsth, right, pictured here with William Hague, has complained about a lack of leaders north of the Border. Pic: PA

The new Scotland Office minister admitted "everything was on the table" as the party tries to work out why it failed again to make any significant progress in Scotland at the general election.

His comments came as sources called for the party to properly separate from the Tories in England and change its name to "Scottish Reform". There were also demands for a clear-out of the leadership, with Holyrood leader Annabel Goldie's position under question along with those of the campaign director David McLetchie and chairman Andrew Fulton.

There were suggestions, too, that some of the older list MSPs, such as Mary Scanlon, 60, Nanette Milne 68, Ted Brocklebank, 67 and Sir Jamie McGrigor, 60 – all of whom have failed to win constituencies – should be removed from the party list in the 2011 election.

One senior source told The Scotsman: "We need a 'two strikes and you are out' policy and not stick with candidates who keep failing.

"Also, the Goldie/McLetchie leadership failed to win us anything in the general election, which was a shambles. Why would it do any better next year?

"They need to make way for some younger, fresh blood."

There was also an assault on the party by former Conservative Scottish secretary Lord Forsyth, who complained about a lack of leadership.

"There is no-one in charge," he said. "We need to have someone who is in charge of the Conservative party in Scotland, preferably elected by the membership.

"The membership and the constituencies have been allowed to atrophy. The branches have disappeared. There's no real link between the voluntary side of the party and the MSPs."

Senior Tory sources claimed the party needed to do more in Holyrood.

Some party insiders suggested one of the problems faced by Conservatives now was the "memory of Lord Forsyth in government", which they said was still demonised in Scotland.

They claimed he had failed to notice the notable successes of the party at Holyrood, including increasing police numbers, the lowering of business rates and winning of town-centre regeneration money.

Mr Mundell said he welcomed a debate about party structure and the approach to politics in Scotland.

"To really get to the heart of the issue that affects our party, we have to be in government and we have to demonstrate that that's good government and that it doesn't have an adverse affect on people here in Scotland," he said.

"One in six people in Scotland did vote Conservative. That doesn't make us a marginal force. Actually, in the Scottish Parliament, we've been quite an effective force in influencing policy."

Lord Forsyth's call for clear leadership was echoed by the party's recent convert, Paul McBride, QC. "The problem was that we spent large amounts of money but there was no clear leader who had powers to hire and fire, make strategic decisions and have a say on who stood as candidates," he said.

"We had people working for us having to report to three or four different people and that was unacceptable."

He called for Mr Fulton to be handed greater powers for next year's Holyrood elections.