Fraser says he can win over SNP voters as head of Scottish Tories

A senior Conservative MSP is to claim that he can win over disillusioned SNP voters as part of his attempt to become the new Scottish Tory leader.
Murdo Fraser will say on Thursday that he can appeal to so-called “Tartan Tories” who have backed the nationalists because they favour independence, but whose faith is now wavering.
At an event in Perth to launch his leadership campaign, Fraser will say he can lead a Tory group that provides “practical solutions to Scotland’s problems” that will attract voters.
He is likely to be one of four candidates in the contest to succeed Douglas Ross when the party confirms on Thursday lunchtime how many of those who put themselves forward were able to gain the required 100 nominations from Conservative members.
Fraser and Russell Findlay, who is widely seen as the favourite, have already passed the milestone and Meghan Gallacher, the former deputy leader, on Wednesday confirmed that she had attracted enough support to move to the next stage of the contest. Sources close to Liam Kerr, the education spokesman, said he was also confident of being on the ballot.
However, it was widely thought that Jamie Greene, a prominent backbencher, would fall short and he is expected to back Fraser.
Brian Whittle, a former Olympic athlete, dropped out of the race before he had to disclose whether he had enough support and threw his weight behind Fraser.
Findlay, who formally launched his campaign on Monday, admitted that the Scottish Tories had lost the Ruth Davidson “mojo”.
He has been boosted by John Cooper, the Dumfries and Galloway MP who served as a special adviser to Alister Jack in the Scotland Office, who has backed his campaign.
Cooper said the Scottish Tories were facing “perilous times”, adding: “Our next leader needs to breathe new life into Conservatism in Scotland. Russell is already doing that with his positivity, energy and decency. That’s why he’s attracted the support of a wide range of members in our party across Scotland at every level, from the grassroots to councillors, to MSPs and MPs.”
Fraser, who stood unsuccessfully against Davidson in the 2011 contest, has said he will no longer pursue a split from the UK party as he tries to unify support behind him.
He said that the nature of political debate is “moving on from the constitutional obsession that has dogged us for the last decade”.
He added: “We have seen great success over the past decade, being the strongest pro-Union party opposing independence. Now, as people believe, even those who are pro-independence, that that prospect has become ever-more unlikely, the salience of that argument has become less powerful.”
He said that the “constitutional battle” had been won but “now we must win the policy battle” in the run up to the Holyrood elections in 2026.
“I know there are many more people who hold Conservative values in Scotland than currently vote Scottish Conservative. Some of these people will have voted SNP, perhaps for the last two decades, perhaps because they are sympathetic to independence,” he said.
“Now, with independence no longer a prospect, these individuals have been freed up to vote for a party which might not share their view on the constitution, but is actually offering real solutions to the problems Scotland faces today.”