Murdo Fraser, candidate for the leadership of the Scottish Conservatives, does not expect to beat his rival from the “establishment”

A candidate for the Scottish Conservative leadership has admitted that he does not expect to win the election against the party’s “establishment” candidate, Russell Findlay.

Murdo Fraser, whom Findlay’s supporters had viewed as their biggest rival, appeared to downplay his chances of victory when the result of the race to succeed Douglas Ross was announced on Friday.

Writing in the Scotsman, he said it was “clear from the outset” that the “party establishment” had decided that Findlay should be the new leader, but that he himself had decided to stand in the election to raise the “concerns” of his supporters.

He also warned that whoever becomes the next leader will face “massive challenges” due to “internal problems” after a heated election campaign, adding that Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party poses an even greater threat in the next Holyrood elections.

Mr Fraser’s comments are not believed to be a concession to Mr Findlay, and sources close to the MSP stress that the outcome remains uncertain.

However, even prominent Fraser supporters generally expect Findlay to win the election easily, as the election period ends on Thursday.

Mr Fraser revealed that an MP from a rival party had “quite unfairly” compared the battle for the Scottish Conservative leadership to a scene from the Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark, in which the coveted Ark of the Covenant turns out to contain only sand.

“I entered the campaign late, with no great expectations of winning, because it was clear from the outset that the party establishment had already decided that Russell should be the man to succeed Douglas Ross,” Fraser said.

“However, so many fellow MSPs and party members asked me to stand that I felt I needed to put my name forward to at least have a platform on which to raise my concerns and theirs about the organisation of the party and the need for real change to meet the future ahead.”

“Greater challenge”

Mr Fraser said the election campaign had “shed light on some dark corners that needed to be addressed, not least in relation to the treatment of women in the party”.

Meghan Gallacher, the other candidate in the race, claimed earlier this month that she was the victim of a dirty tricks campaign involving senior party figures – an allegation she denied.

Mr Fraser warned that while the new president would have to resolve internal problems, the “bigger challenge” was “political”.

Polls suggest that the Scottish Tories will lose around half of their current 31 MPs in 2026 and that support for Reform UK will be at a similar level to that of the Conservatives.

Fraser warned that it would be “counterproductive and potentially disastrous if we were to chase votes for reform by joining an anti-devolution sentiment”.

Mr Findlay, who had a successful three-decade career as a journalist before being elected as an MSP in 2021, has repeatedly denied claims that he is the “establishment” candidate to succeed Mr Ross, describing the allegation as “absurd”.