Achi news desk-
The former journalist refused to comment on the speculation when approached by The Herald last night, although he refused to rule out a bid for the top job.
He said he was “focused on the General Election” and that discussions about the future of the party “were not helpful when Scottish Conservative candidates are standing to beat the SNP.”
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Mr Findlay has only been at Holyrood for three years but has impressed colleagues and commentators.
Writing in The Herald today, Andy Maciver, the party’s former head of communications, described him as “very sharp and capable, with excellent unionist qualities.”
Mr Ross stunned his colleagues on Monday when he announced he would be stepping down as leader of the Scottish Tories after the General Election.
The decision to quit came after he upset some of his MLAs by applying to Westminster, although he had previously promised to commit his energies to being the leader of the Tory group in the Scottish Parliament in the run-up to 2026 election.
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What made his colleagues particularly uneasy is that he is standing in the new Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency, replacing David Duguid, who was disqualified as a candidate by the Party’s Management Board for being too ill.
Mr Duguid – who is recovering in hospital from an illness affecting his spine – insisted he was well enough to stand.
One person in the party was so unhappy that they leaked information about Mr Ross’s expenses to the Sunday Mail, including suggestions that he had broken parliamentary rules by claiming to travel to football matches where he worked as a referee.
Mr Ross denied any wrongdoing, but the allegations ultimately proved to be a turning point.
In his column, published in today’s paper, Mr Maciver said that a number of contacts had told him that Mr Ross’ supporters “and by extension the powers that be in the party in Scotland, many of them based in Westminster” had choose Mr. Last day as their “succession candidate to succeed him.”
“Mr Findlay, from the 2021 intake, has made a name for himself,” he added.
“Sharp and very capable, with excellent unionist qualities, he would be an excellent choice to continue the work of his predecessors as an anti-independence agitator.”
No leadership contest will start until early July and could last until November if more than one candidate throws their hat into the ring.
Adding to the chaos surrounding Mr Ross’s resignation are the tensions in the Holyrood group over the future of the party in Westminster and fears of a shift to the right if the election goes as badly as the opinion polls predict.
Mr Maciver said he believed more than half of the Holyrood group was now “questioning the value of a relationship with the UK party.”
He warned that the Tories have little chance of being anything other than an opposition party unless they consider radical change.
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Mr Maciver said the party needed to ask itself an “existential question”.
“Are you unionists, continuing to fight once again a battle against nationalists that you have already won?
“Or are you conservatives, fighting a battle against the left that you must win if you want to be in power?”
Murdo Fraser previously suggested a new centre-right party more familiar with the Scottish political landscape as part of his platform during the 2011 leadership contest.
The proposal was completely rejected by the members.
Mr Findlay told the Herald: “I’m focused on the General Election. Any discussions about the future of the party do not help when Scottish Conservative candidates are standing to beat the SNP.”
