Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay aims to get party ‘back on the pitch'
Mr Findlay said some wanted to 'write off' the Tories, but he believed they could win seats from the SNP in the 2026 vote, holding out the potential of even ousting First Minister John Swinney from his Perthshire constituency.
While polls have pointed to Nigel Farage's Reform party – which has no seats at Holyrood at present – overtaking the Tories, Mr Findlay made clear he was 'not prepared to accept doom and gloom'.
He promised his party would offer voters a 'a common-sense vision for Scotland's future'.
He set out plans to save £650 million by 'cutting red tape, getting a grip on spending and harnessing business expertise', with the cash to be used to cut taxes for Scots.
He also vowed the Tories would 'scrap' Scotland's 'unaffordable and unachievable' target of reaching net zero by 2045.
Civil service numbers would be slashed by over 11,000, with the Conservative leader promising his party would seek to reduce numbers to the level they were at a decade ago.
And Mr Findlay added he would boost doctor numbers by setting a target to have more Scottish medical students, and tackle classroom violence and improve education with a 'firmer approach' to school discipline.
In his first major conference speech since becoming Scottish Tory leader last year, Mr Findlay said: 'We will aim to take on and defeat the SNP in more constituencies.
'Not just hold on to what we have but win more.'
🗣️ @RussellFindlay1:
"We will aim to take on and defeat the SNP in more constituencies.
"Not just hold onto what we have but win more."#SCC25
— Scottish Conservatives (@ScotTories) June 14, 2025
He added: 'Pundits want to write off our party.
'But I'm an optimist. I'm not prepared to accept doom and gloom.
'Where we are today is not necessarily where we will be tomorrow.
'By working hard, sticking to our values, and holding our nerve, we can and will turn things around.'
The Tories returned 31 MSPs at Holyrood in the last Scottish elections in 2021, and Mr Findlay said the target of winning more is 'optimistic' but 'also realistic if you speak to people'.
He even set his sights on winning the Perthshire North seat of Mr Swinney, saying that while the SNP 'will do everything to protect' its leader there, seats like that 'can be in play for us'.
Speaking at the Scottish Conservative conference in Edinburgh, Mr Findlay said: 'Wouldn't that be some prize? Swinney paying the price for his abysmal record.'
He claimed that Mr Swinney was 'an Amstrad politician in the Apple age', adding the First Minister would 'impoverish Scotland in pursuit of his perverse lifelong desire to destroy the UK'.
Mr Findlay said: 'People like him are why voters have lost trust in politics.'
Next May's election should be a 'referendum on the SNP's record', Mr Findlay said, adding there is a 'binary choice between the change that Scotland so urgently needs or more of the same from John Swinney'.
The Scottish Conservative leader told his party: 'I guarantee that we will stand on a manifesto with funded tax cuts.'
🗣️ @RussellFindlay1:
"Let's make the Holyrood election a referendum on the SNP's record.
"A binary choice between the change that Scotland so urgently needs or more of the same from John Swinney."#SCC25 pic.twitter.com/SBJ9ulcOAx
— Scottish Conservatives (@ScotTories) June 14, 2025
His pledge to save £650 million would be achieved with a Taxpayer Savings Act, and he said the Tories would also 'shut down quangos that don't deliver value' and reverse the £20,000 a year pay rise for Scottish ministers delivered by Mr Swinney'.
Civil service jobs would be reduced to the level of 10 years ago, taking the total from 28,800 to 17,400, the level they were at in the first quarter of 2015, and there would be 'much stricter rules on pay rises' for public sector workers.
In a move similar to US President Donald Trump's creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), Mr Findlay promised to bring in a Scottish Agency of Value and Efficiency (Save) to be run by business leaders 'tasked with wielding a claymore on waste'.
On energy, the Scottish Tory leader said the party would 'scrap the SNP's 2045 net zero target', insisting it is 'unaffordable and unachievable'.
He told party supporters: 'Instead of spending this money on SNP eco projects, we would use it to protect oil and gas workers' livelihoods.'
🗣️ @RussellFindlay1:
"Today I can announce that we would introduce a Taxpayer Savings Act to get the books in order and deliver better value.
"This proposal would save £650 million by cutting red tape, getting a grip on spending, and harnessing business expertise."#SCC25 pic.twitter.com/Xlp9AAL5NE
— Scottish Conservatives (@ScotTories) June 14, 2025
He said the Tories would 'would take £100 off every household energy bill in Scotland from the proceeds of leasing our waters to wind farms', and would give residents new legal powers to oppose 'mega-pylons'.
On education, he also promised 'less bureaucracy' and said teachers should be free to 'instil discipline… because violence in schools has reached truly horrific levels'.
'We must now take a firmer approach. Exclusions are not cruel, but sometimes necessary.'
To tackle problems in the NHS he said 'the way to deliver more doctors is simple common sense', claiming what is needed is 'more Scottish students training to join Scotland's NHS'.
Arguing Scottish medical students are more likely to work in Scotland after finishing their training than their overseas counterparts, Mr Findlay said the Tories would set a new target for the number of Scottish medical students at Scottish universities.
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The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish Tories struggle to be heard after election skelping
'We stopped Nicola Sturgeon converting her gender bill into law. And we have watched Labour try government — but Sir Keir Starmer keeps dropping the ball.' But for all the jibes, the problem facing Mr Findlay's party is that they are struggling to even get on the pitch. READ MORE Findlay: Tories can win seats at Holyrood election despite polls pointing to drubbing Tories unveil plans for 'Scottish first' medical student training policy For Women Scotland threaten SNP with fresh legal action over Supreme Court ruling The party suffered its worst-ever defeat at last year's general election, slumping to just 121 seats UK-wide — a loss of 244. In Scotland, the scale of the collapse was slightly masked. Despite a chaotic campaign that saw Douglas Ross alienate members and then quit before polling day, the party managed to hold on to five of its six seats. Although the Tory vote halved, support for the SNP — the main challengers in each Conservative-held seat — declined even more sharply. The ghosts of Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak continue to haunt the party, while the spectre of Nigel Farage looms ever larger. The latest projections from Professor Sir John Curtice, based on last month's Survation poll, paint a bleak picture for next year's Holyrood vote. His modelling has the Tories slumping to fourth place with just 13 MSPs — less than half their current tally of 30. The SNP would return 58 seats, while Reform UK would leapfrog the Conservatives to become the main opposition on 21. Labour would win 18 seats, with the LibDems and Greens on 10 and 8 respectively. Mr Findlay did not shy away from the scale of the challenge, admitting that a huge effort would be needed to even earn the right to be heard. Yet despite the grim outlook, the party is hopeful. 'You would think we had no right to be as upbeat as we are, but it is the phenomena of the Conservative Party,' said Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland. 'Against all of the odds, we are feeling genuinely optimistic and positive.'I think we knew that 2024 was going to be terrible. Having taken that skelping, I think people are back to renew the party — and that is the strong statement of both Russell and Kemi's remarks.' 'We are sitting in a much diminished form at Westminster, our worst ever election result in over 250 years of the Conservative Party really being in existence. And really beginning the fightback,' shadow Scottish secretary Andrew Bowie told Unspun Live, The Herald's politics podcast. 'And that is where we are right now — beginning that long, hard slog of regaining the trust of the British people, hopefully with a view to getting back into power in short order in four years' time.' Mr Findlay has settled into the role of party leader. He is much more relaxed and less like the deer trapped in the headlights he resembled when he took over from Douglas Ross last September. He is putting the effort in. One Tory staffer said the boss had rehearsed his 42-minute address at least eight times before delivering it to party members on Saturday lunchtime. It was an unashamedly Conservative speech with a raft of policies rooted in the party's traditional values: tax cuts funded by £650 million in savings from slashing quangos and civil service jobs; scrapping the SNP's 2045 net zero target; and a pledge to train more Scottish medical students to reduce NHS reliance on immigration. For years, Scottish Tory speeches at conference have been dominated by saying no to indyref2. That was in Mr Findlay's speech, of course — but it was his programme for government that was to the fore. 'The way we beat Reform is by having good, proper policies in place. We have not seen very much from Reform policy-wise,' North East list MSP Douglas Lumsden told The Herald on Sunday. 'I still think there is enough time [to turn things around]. It is 11 months before the election and this is about building a positive message we can take next year. 'We absolutely need to move on from the past.' The scale of the party's challenge — and the threat from Reform — was made painfully clear earlier this month at the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, where the Tories came a distant fourth. In a seat where they had won 17.5% at the last Holyrood election, they only just managed to hold on to their Reform took 26% of the vote. While Labour's surprise win has led to grumblings in the SNP, Mr Lumsden insists the party is united behind Mr Findlay. 'We are 100% behind Russell. There is no briefing at all from anyone. Russell has a brilliant personality and the more people who get to know him the more they like him — so we need to promote Russell.' READ MORE While Mr Findlay's position might be safe, the same cannot be said for Kemi Badenoch. Potential leadership hopefuls are on manoeuvres. The leader of the opposition delivered her speech on Friday. It was only her second trip to Scotland since becoming leader in November. 'There is a lot of work to be done, a lot of messaging, a lot of renewal — and she has got the runway that Russell and the rest of us do not have,' Mr Kerr said. 'I am not worried about threats to her leadership. She is letting her colleagues get on with it. She is not a leader who is lying awake worrying about a challenge to her leadership,' he added. 'Anybody who is going to contest Kemi or Russell for leadership right now is mad — because the challenges will not change.' Mr Kerr compared Ms Badenoch to Margaret Thatcher: 'I am old enough to remember our first female leader and the same stuff was being said about her in terms of her role as Leader of the Opposition and her performance and PMQs — and look what happened to her.' 'You know, we have been written off as a party before,' Mr Findlay told The Herald on Sunday. 'There are many people at this conference who have been around for a very long time, and they have seen some pretty dark days. 'And you know what keeps people going? You know that resilience that we all saw in the hall today — it is because we know that what we stand for is right. 'We stand for personal responsibility, lower taxation, fairer taxes for people, integrity and ensuring the very best public services. We want a Scottish Parliament that is entirely focused on delivering for Scotland — not the fringe obsessions of the SNP and Labour.'So we will be fighting for every single vote.' Murrayfield is used to resilience and fighting talk — it is also, however, no stranger to the wooden spoon, a fate Mr Findlay will be desperae to avoid next May.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Kate Forbes asked to intervene in Ardrossan Harbour talks
Wyllie Hume, chair of the Arran for Ardrossan Harbour group, has written to Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes citing a 'lack of progress' in the Scottish Government's planned takeover of the port. He added Transport Scotland and Scotland's ferries agency CMAL – which is acting on behalf of Scottish ministers in the talks – had painted a 'gloomy picture' of how negotiations were going with owners Peel Ports when he met with bosses a few weeks ago. Forbes has been asked by Hume to get directly involved and 'inject a sense of urgency' into the negotiations. Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop has also been called on to intervene in the talks by VisitArran chief executive Sheila Gilmore. READ MORE: MV Caledonian Isles ferry delayed due to last minute issue But Gilmore told the Sunday National she had received a response from Hyslop saying it would not be appropriate for her to get involved. An email to Forbes from Hume, seen by the Sunday National, says: 'We had a meeting recently with CMAL and Transport Scotland about the negotiations, and they painted a very gloomy picture of how things were going, blaming Peel Ports for being difficult and asking far too much. 'We would like the Deputy First Minister to get involved directly in the negotiations and inject a sense of urgency into the situation." Gilmore added: "My thoughts are that we have a bit of a 'he said' 'she said' going on between CMAL and Peel Ports, and it might be helpful to get some transparency around all this, which may only be achieved by ministerial intervention." The Arran for Ardrossan Harbour group alongside fellow campaigners from Save Ardrossan Harbour will be travelling to Holyrood this week to call for ministerial intervention. Concern is growing over the harbour's long-term future as the new MV Glen Sannox ferry and its sister ship the MV Glen Rosa – which is due to begin service next year – are too big to berth at the port. This has resulted in the Glen Sannox having to travel to Arran from Troon since January, which has added about 20 minutes onto each leg of the journey. The Glen Sannox is only about to carry out three daily return sailings to Arran from Troon compared to the five that are possible from Ardrossan. While the MV Alfred has been providing extra support when needed, its capacity is much smaller. There have been no ferries running from Ardrossan for five months. (Image: George Munro) The Caledonian Isles ferry (above) had been due to return to service last week from Ardrossan after around 18 months out of action, but last-minute problems picked up during sea trials delayed the launch until at least Tuesday, with a firm update to be provided on Monday. The Scottish Government promised seven years ago that Ardrossan would remain the main gateway to Arran and pledged to fund the multi-million-pound upgrade required to accommodate the new ferries. But the project was paused in 2023 amid concern over rising costs and disagreements over how the bill should be split between the three partners: Peel Ports, North Ayrshire Council and the Scottish Government. Communities on both sides of the Firth of Clyde are keen to see Ardrossan remain the gateway to Arran given many people in the town travel to the island for work, while Arran residents have medical appointments in Ardrossan. Ardrossan Harbour also has a train station offering easy access to Glasgow, while the railway station in Troon is around a 20-minute walk away from the port. People can board a shuttle to Troon station, but with only three daily return sailings, the logistics of spending a day in Glasgow from Troon are much trickier. In February, Transport Secretary Hyslop revealed that money had been set aside to take Ardrossan Harbour into public ownership. But since then, campaigners have lost faith in the progress of negotiations since a meeting with CMAL, Transport Scotland, Peel Ports and CalMac. READ MORE: Scottish Borders wind farm plan 'to push out recovering golden eagles' Hume said the meeting left him 'flabbergasted'. 'All of us came out of that meeting thinking this could fail,' he said. 'There was no commitment in that meeting. Duncan Mackison [CEO of CalMac] listened to us quite sympathetically and he came across as someone who is committed to Ardrossan Harbour. 'But the others, they just laid on doom and gloom about how bad the negotiations were going. It was quite bizarre. 'I'm still a bit flabbergasted by it.' He went on: 'They've got to get the deal done. It started in February, and although we accept there's a lot of detail to go through, we're into June now. 'The main thing is we don't think they can leave this to Peel Ports and CMAL. They're not connecting with each other.' Frances Gilmour, chair of Save Ardrossan Harbour, said the town had been 'badly let down' by all parties. The Glen Sannox has been sailing from Troon to Brodick (Image: PA) She told the Sunday National: 'People will go to Arran from Troon on the nice ferry and that's wonderful if you're a tourist, but the whole picture is not being seen. 'The strength of feeling from the people who go to the island for work and to see family, it is clear this is the route that needs to be sustained. 'The powers that be have let us down badly. They are putting a sticking plaster on it by giving us the Caledonian Isles back for as long as she lasts, which might not be long. 'I don't have much confidence [in the talks]. It just seems to be a stalemate.' READ MORE: Robert Burns-linked estate to be turned into whisky distillery Asked what her message would be to those involved in the negotiations, she said: 'Get moving, and stop blaming each other.' Peel Ports has said there has not been enough 'pace and energy' from CMAL and Transport Scotland, while CMAL has said it has to 'deliver the best value for the public purse'. A spokesperson for CMAL said: "We do not own Ardrossan Harbour, so we cannot make plans for its future. We are in the middle of a commercial negotiation process to buy the harbour from Peel Ports, which limits the amount of detail that can be shared. We are fully committed to maintaining a robust and resilient ferry service for the Isle of Arran, and no option is off the table. However, we must also ensure we deliver the best value for the public purse." A Peel Ports spokesperson said: 'The ongoing cancellations, delays, and uncertainty are devastating for the people and businesses of Arran and Ardrossan. We've entered negotiations in good faith, working with pace and energy to a timetable we believed was achievable. Unfortunately, that pace and energy hasn't been matched by those at the negotiating table. We appreciate that the buyers have other ferry issues to contend with but reaching a swift conclusion will require them to give this negotiation a higher priority.' A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: 'It is wholly appropriate that CMAL leads on the Ardrossan negotiations. Should ownership transfer be successful, CMAL would be the asset owner and responsible for taking forward any development works at Ardrossan. 'As owners of 26 ports and harbours across Scotland, they also bring essential experience to these complex discussions. 'We will of course update Parliament and the local community once there is progress and an outcome to report, however, CMAL and Peel Ports need time and space to undertake and conclude negotiations.'
The National
an hour ago
- The National
John Swinney is a decent, caring kind of chap. Inspirational, he's not
If a cause needs a charismatic figure to sweep serious numbers to the metaphorical barricades, Honest John is not that man. This is not just about the Hamilton by-election saga, embarrassing as that undoubtedly was. Or about the misguided tactics which showcased Reform UK and possibly helped their vote along. In days of yore, the London media used to write that John Smith was like a douce Scottish bank manager. (He wasn't! As one of his close pals observed, he could and did start a party in an empty room!) But that might be an entirely suitable description of the chap now leading his troops into something not at all resembling a glad, confident morning. Sunlit uplands are not in view. READ MORE: 'What is our vision?': Inside the quiet anger brewing within the SNP Swinney's outings in Holyrood are invariably courteous and low-key; rather like his private persona. He says, not unfairly, that after a period of unparalleled turbulence, it was down to him to impose a period of 'steady as she goes' in order to portray the Scottish ship of state in a more credible light. He answered his party's call in time of their need, not without personal family sacrifice, and he's due gratitude for that. And it's assuredly not his fault that his party suffers from the same fate which inevitably befalls all administrations which somehow survive their 'natural' sell-by date. Even the apparently impregnable Lady Thatcher had to be elbowed out the door when her trusty lieutenants lined up to say, 'time's up ducks'. Those who continue to laud her extended period in office seem to suffer from false memory syndrome. Many in her party continue to worship at her posthumous shrine. In Scotland, however, she was as welcome as the average pandemic. One of the things which has kept the SNP in power these many years has been the lack of a credible alternative. However desperate Anas Sarwar may be to usher his family over the door of Bute House, it's still not easy to see where his other big hitters will come from outside of his ever-articulate deputy Jackie Baillie who has long, and perhaps wisely, eschewed the top job. The Tories, who barely hung on to their deposit at the last time of asking, are hardly destined to mount any kind of takeover – they're much more likely to be summoning a cab from the rank to house their diminishing troops. Never has a flush been more evidently busted. Alba have yet to make any kind of impact at the ballot box, a fate hardly helped by the loss of their leader whose ebullient instincts provided much of their initial excitement. Their solitary MSP has yet to sail under her own colours, though I suspect she might sink without very much trace when she does. Like all new political parties, Alba have already encountered internal warfare and I rather doubt Kenny MacAskill would have offered his leadership services had he faced a different opponent. READ MORE: The younger SNP activists only used to winning may need to brace There is a school of thought that the dawn of Alba helped the SNP by attracting a wheen of their most vocal critics. It's not a theory to which I subscribe, though it has to be said many of them were at the front of the queue when spiteful comments were handed out. I also remain convinced that the independence field has become altogether too cluttered to encourage any kind of coherent, strategic vision. That same hymn sheet from which all indy supporters are supposed to sing has become more than a little frayed round the edges. However, if Swinney reneges on his pledge to serve another full five years if elected next year, the obvious question is who should inherit a chalice which is more than slightly poisoned by recent and historic events. Changing a leader without changing tactics is not of itself particularly useful. They tried that once before without much success, you may recall, while Swinney is in charge for the second time; the first not exactly an unbridled triumph. Nor his stint at education. Right now there is the obvious need not just to close the gap between those who favour independence and those who are at least nominally SNP supporters, and the requirement to persuade doubters that independence is overwhelmingly in our national interest. These are not easy tricks to pull off, and they will need both a considerable political skillset and an ability to persuade erstwhile adherents that you are serious about independence, the very foundation of the party. It will also require an appetite for compromise among those of us who cannot immediately finger a flaw-free candidate, but have an overriding need to see a proper, and properly urgent, campaign take flight. One which can encapsulate the core message of why independence matters so much. The queue of contenders is not a lengthy one, it must be conceded. Stephen Flynn may well have the gift of the gab but has yet to win a seat at Holyrood. Kate Forbes, who came a close second in the last contest, suffered badly because of her beliefs. I have little time for those in her party who clutched their pearls very publicly at the thought of her religious views, despite being very well aware of them during her ministerial years. Personally, I'm much more hostile about her enthusiasm for freeports. There was much merriment in the comments section of the column which proposed Màiri McAllan as an obvious candidate, not just because of her relative inexperience, but because she was considered too wedded to the internal forces of top-down control. There are not a few folks around who remember when SNP conference decisions by the actual membership were regarded as tablets of stone. Stephen Gethins is another name which floats into the frame. He too has yet to get his feet under a Holyrood desk and is something of a clone of the effortlessly polite incumbent. Bright guy though. The unpalatable truth is that none of us knows how anyone will perform in the heat of battle. READ MORE: UK to send jets to Middle East as Keir Starmer refuses to rule out defending Israel There are those who grow into leadership roles and those whose weaknesses are exposed by them. Think Boris Johnson. Think Liz Truss. (How the latter with her monotonous delivery ever enchanted the Tory faithful is one of life's enduring mysteries.) Johnson, meanwhile, with his loose relationship to the truth thoroughly deserves his mini Donald Trump moniker. What is crystal clear though is that the status quo neither excites the faithful, nor persuades the naysayers. It is said that Joe Biden left it too late to give Kamala Harris a fighting chance of winning. Some will argue that with less than a year to the 2026 poll, Scotland too can't afford to change horses in midstream. Yet what other route is there to persuading Scottish voters that a fresh face with, importantly, a fresh team, can deliver what improvements are possible without losing the Westminster straitjacket? There's little doubt in my mind that nothing less than root and branch reform of a tiring party will let it recover enough of its mojo to enthuse those desperate to feel that there is a clear direction of travel being outlined. Sure, time is short. All the more reason to use it wisely and not be afraid to redraw the map radically. Everything about Reform UK is risible from them being a policy-free zone to their total lack of anything resembling a Scottish sensibility. At its helm is a man who has been in more parties than Boris. His USP is to create an air of wholly undeserved excitement around him. We certainly don't need a Nigel Farage. Heaven forfend! But we could use some excitement.
