A Tory candidate who stood for Westminster in Orkney and Shetland aged just 21 warned his party risks “electoral oblivion” if it continues to alienate young voters.
Shane Painter told the Press and Journal that Scottish Conservative members feel “looked down on” by party HQ and said a proper leadership contest is vital to fix that.
The Tories slumped to just 12% of the vote in Scotland at the election on July 4, their worst ever performance.
Worryingly for the Conservatives across the UK, a measly 8% of voters aged between 18 and 29 backed them.
‘We risk irrelevance’
Mr Painter – the youngest Tory candidate in Scotland – said that is a huge problem for the party.
“There’s a real risk that over the next few years we’re going to commit ourselves to electoral oblivion if we don’t make a shift to attract young voters,” he said.
“If we fail to reinvigorate the membership, if we don’t have people hitting the streets with our message, then we risk irrelevance.”
Getting the Tories back on track will be a task for whoever is picked to succeed Douglas Ross as leader.
Mr Painter was airing his views at a time when former crime journalist Russell Findlay, a Glasgow MSP, was the only person officially making a stand.
That’s sparked fears from some Tories he could end up getting the top job unopposed.
Mr Findlay has vowed to build a “positive, modern” party in Scotland.
The Orkney and Shetland candidate said: “We’ve had Rishi Sunak and Douglas Ross, two leaders who didn’t go through leadership contests.
“They were very much the party establishment picks imposed by central offices.”
Mr Painter said Tory candidates in Scotland felt demotivated during the election and lacked the necessary volunteers to help.
“This is hardly surprising when members feel looked down on by central office,” he said.
Mr Painter said he wants Central Scotland MSP Meghan Gallacher to be the next Tory leader.
But on his hopes for a proper contest, he added: “It’s not any concern about Russell in particular, but we need this opportunity to re-engage party members so they have a voice.”
Mr Painter picked up just 2.8% of the vote in Orkney and Shetland.
He finished with less than half the vote share of the Reform candidate – as Nigel Farage’s party set their sights on making Holyrood gains in 2026.
Mr Painter said: “We’ve just seen our vote share collapse by half in Scotland. That should be sending alarm bells ringing in Edinburgh.”
Read more: Who’s to blame for Douglas Ross’s damaging Aberdeenshire election loss?
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