Russell Findlay has apologised directly to voters for Conservative failures in office after his party came a distant fourth in the Hamilton by-election.
The Scottish Tory leader refused to ‘peddle the usual excuses’ after the ‘disappointing result’ in the three-way marginal.
‘I will be straight – this by-election delivered a harsh verdict on my party’s previous period in government,’ he said.
‘Voters still feel badly let down by the previous UK Conservative government.’
The Conservatives came third in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse at the 2021 Holyrood election with a 17.5 per cent share of the vote.
But on Thursday it plunged to six per cent, just above the threshold needed to save its deposit.
At the same time, Reform went from a standing start to 26.1 per cent, coming just 869 votes behind the SNP and 1,471 behind Labour.
Tory insiders claimed some of their support backed Labour in a ‘tactical Unionist vote’ to help defeat the SNP.
But with polls showing up to a quarter of Tory voters at the general election now backing Reform, many local Tories undoubtedly backed Reform’s Ross Lambie.
Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay admitted the Hamilton by-election delivered ‘a harsh verdict on my party’s previous period in government’
Writing in today’s Mail, Mr Findlay said Tory candidate Richard Nelson was ‘respected and hard-working’ but many local people ‘didn’t feel we deserved their vote because over 14 years in power, we lost our way’.
The West Scotland MSP said: ‘I want to say directly to everyone who feels that way that I am listening, I get it and I understand how you feel.
‘My party let you down in government and we accept responsibility for our mistakes.’
On a more positive note, Mr Findlay said the by-election had also exposed how ‘vulnerable and beatable’ the SNP was under John Swinney.
‘The era of damaging and divisive Nationalist rule can be brought to an end in 2026 and our party will play a pivotal part in doing so,’ he promised.
‘There are vast areas of Scotland where only we can beat the SNP.
‘If we work hard, demonstrate to people that we’ve changed and show that we’re ready to represent their interests, we can send John Swinney packing. What a prize that would be.’
Kemi Badenoch insisted the Conservatives were still the main opposition to Labour despite her party sinking to fourth place in Hamilton.
Reform also gained 677 seats in last month’s English local elections as the Tories lost 674.
Keir Starmer has said he now regard Nigel Farage’s party as his main rivals at Westminster, despite it having only five MPs, because of its strong position in the polls.
But Ms Badenoch dismissed Reform as a ‘protest party’ and called the claim that it was the real opposition ‘nonsense’.
Describing Reform as ‘another left-wing party’, she said: ‘What they’re trying to do is talk this situation into existence. Labour is going to be facing the Conservative Party at the next election and we’re going to get them out.’
Recent polls have put Reform well ahead of Labour on Westminster voting intention, with the Conservatives third and the Lib Dems close behind them.
However the next general election is still four years away and Reform has yet to prove its credentials in power since it won control of a dozen English councils in May.
The party has also been blighted by infighting, including the dramatic resignation of chair Zia Yusuf on Thursday after a public spat with Runcorn MP Sarah Pochin about burkas.
Polling guru Professor Sir John Curtice said support for the Tories had never ‘fallen so heavily’ in a Holyrood by-election.
He told the Telegraph: ‘The Conservatives are at risk of recording their worst-ever performance in a Scottish Parliament election next year and could find themselves occupying a much diminished space in the Holyrood chamber as only the fourth-largest party.’
