Brian Whittle joins race to become Scottish Conservative leader

Former athlete Brian Whittle has become the second candidate to declare in the race for the Scottish Conservative leadership.

The West of Scotland MSP and ex-Olympian sprinter announced his plans to stand to replace Douglas Ross.

His announcement follows fellow MSP Russell Findlay throwing his hat into the ring last week.

Mr Ross announced during the general election campaign that he would stand down after the vote.

It came after a backlash over his decision to stand in place of former MP David Duguid – who party bosses deemed too ill to run.

Announcing his leadership bid, Mr Whittle said the Scottish Conservatives had to decide how to “pick themselves up and prepare for the next race”.

His announcement reflected on his athletics career, during which he raced at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul and won the 4 x 400m relay at the European Championships at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki in 1994.

“Losing hurts, it doesn’t matter whether it’s in politics, in business, in sport or any other competition,” he said.

“For me though, it’s not the losses that matter, it’s how I respond to them. One of the most important things I learned in sport is resilience.”

He added: “My objective for the future of the party is clear – build a party that can win in Scotland.”

He said his candidacy had three “core principles” – education, enterprise and empowering people.

The party, he added, must also be willing to “tell hard truths”, adding: “A party that tries to be all things to all people will most likely end up being nothing to anyone.”

Mr Whittle continued: “I’m not going to offer platitudes or quick fixes because that’s not what we need.

“The Scottish Conservatives can be an effective, pragmatic, and successful centre-right government in Scotland.”

He also called for a greater appreciation of Scotland’s history of innovation, invention and entrepreneurialism, saying businesses had been seen as “little more than a necessary evil or convenient source of cash to pay for more and more spending commitments”.

While the leadership race plays out, another senior MSP has called for a commission to be established to look at the relationship between the Scottish Tories and the UK party.

Murdo Fraser – who is not yet in the running but proposed splitting the parties during a bid at the top job more than a decade ago – wrote in the Daily Telegraph that a “senior independent party figure” should be appointed to lead the probe, reporting after the 2026 Holyrood election.

But the position was almost immediately countered by Mr Findlay, who said in a statement that splitting away from the UK party must be “off the table”.

Last week Mr Findlay, a former crime journalist, became the first Scottish Conservative to formally announce his intention to run for leader.

He was later warned by Police Scotland of a threat to his life by a “known criminal”.

He said the threat is believed to be linked to the case of William Burns, a hitman who attacked Mr Findlay with acid at his home in 2015.

He said he was “not going to let gangland threats” stop him from running for the role.

The party is currently consulting with members on the form the leadership race should take.