Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay has said he always expected a “tough election”, on a day which has so far seen his party lose at least 12 seats.
With 91 out of 129 Holyrood seats declared, the Scottish Conservatives have held on to four of the five constituencies they won in 2021. One-time party leader Jackson Carlaw lost his Eastwood seat to the SNP’s Kirsten Oswald, and the party also lost five of its regional seats.
Speaking to journalists at a count at the Braehead Arena in Renfrew, Mr Findlay said votes for Reform had caused his party to lose to the SNP in a number of close-fought seats.
“What we warned would happen is exactly what has happened,” he said. “In many seats the Scottish Conservative candidates were beaten by the narrowest of margins, and that’s because people voted for Reform in those seats and let the SNP through the middle.”
Despite the results, the former journalist said he was “happy” with the campaign his party had run, saying it had focused on the “real issues” that matter to voters.
“Issues like the looming £5 billion gap in public finances, we’re talking about a benefits bill that’s completely out of control,” he said. “These problems haven’t gone away and as soon as we’re back into Holyrood we will continue to ensure that we give voice to ordinary decent, hardworking Scots who have been more and more taxed, and seen public services only getting worse.”
He added: “We always knew that this was going to be a tough election and that’s what’s happened. I’m taking a lot of satisfaction from the fact that we’ve held on to most of the seats that we hold in Scotland. We saw off the SNP, we’ll continue to be the only party at Holyrood that can stand up to the SNP.”
He also said his party was in the midst of a “rebuilding process”, and that it would take time to rebuild “public confidence”. “When Kemi and I took charge of the party at around the same time we knew there was no quick fix. We’d have to rebuild public confidence in our party and that’s what we’ve been doing.”
Russell Findlay is a candidate in the West of Scotland regional list, which is expected to be declared later on Friday.
