Scottish Tory leadership hopeful Liam Kerr says he can win back Reform voters who abandoned the Tories in a key north-east seat.
The north-east MSP confirmed on Monday he was entering the race to replace Douglas Ross, with four other colleagues in the running so far.
The outgoing Scottish Conservative leader announced he would quit the post, following his ill-fated U-turn to run in Aberdeenshire North and Moray.
More than 5,000 voters backed Nigel Farage’s party, with Mr Ross blaming this for his defeat by the SNP, where he lost by 942 votes.
Speaking to the P&J, Mr Kerr said the party must seek to understand what drove voters to back Reform in the key election battleground.
He said: “I do think I can bring a lot of those people back. I know I can.
“I am up in that area often and I speak to a lot of the people in those communities and I speak to a lot of people who perhaps wanted to protest for whatever reason at this election.
“And they all had different reasons for doing so. We have to be alive to what is driving people to make a vote for Reform. Given they didn’t put anything behind their campaign up here.”
He added: “It’s absolutely crucial to understand what that thought process was.
“It certainly would be part of my leadership over the next 18 months or until the next 20026 election, to be going round and saying to people. ‘What was it?'”
Why did he want to stand?
The other candidates standing so far are former crime reporter Russell Findlay, ex-Olympian Brian Whittle and deputy leader of the party, Meghan Gallacher.
On Tuesday, West Scotland MSP Jamie Greene became the latest Tory to stand in the race to succeed Mr Ross.
Mr Kerr, a former employment lawyer, said he “hadn’t craved the leadership”.
But he felt he had skills he could offer from his business background, and a desire to put a north-east voice in the mix.
“I feel very strongly that we have to have some kind of voice in the heart of Holyrood”, he said.
The north-east MSP suggested frontrunner Mr Findlay could struggle to unite the party.
Asked about his reasons, he praised Mr Findlay for being “very impressive” as the party’s justice spokesman.
But added that he wasn’t sure Mr Findlay’s decision to declare his candidacy early, and to seek endorsements before the rules were out, is “entirely going to be conducive to the sort of unity I’m looking for”.
But Mr Findlay has encouraged other candidates to “focus on outlining their own vision for the future of the party”.
Nominations for candidates to succeed Mr Ross will formally open on August 8 and close on August 22 at 12pm.
Candidates will need 100 nominations from party members to get on the ballot paper.
The ballot will close at 12pm on September 26, and the winner will be announced on September 27.
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