Scottish Conservatives seek ‘drama-free’ new PM

Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross had a tricky relationship with outgoing PM Boris Johnson

It's not so very long since some senior Conservatives argued against changing prime minister in the middle of an international crisis.

In March, the Scottish party leader Douglas Ross withdrew a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson to avoid causing instability during the war in Ukraine.

That war shows no sign of ending but Tory patience with the prime minister - including Mr Ross's - finally ran out and his controversial period in power is drawing to a close.

The election contest to replace Mr Johnson is well under way with five candidates remaining after a second round of voting by Tory MPs.

They'll keep voting until the hopefuls are whittled down to two finalists and then all Conservative Party members will be asked to choose between them.

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That includes Scottish party members of which there are said to be between 10 and 15,000. A precise figure has not been published.

For now it is only the votes of Tory MPs that count and there are only six of those from Scotland, out of a total of 358.

Douglas Ross - MP for Moray - has decided not to publicly back any of the candidates because, as Scottish leader, he wants to try and get along with whoever ends up in Number 10.

If Boris Johnson had stayed on, he faced the nightmare prospect of going into the next UK general election with a prime minister he and many of his Scottish party colleagues felt unable to endorse.

The Scottish secretary, Alister Jack - MP for Dumfries and Galloway - has always remained loyal to the PM and is keeping quiet about who he's backing to succeed him, even if that leaves him vulnerable to replacement in the next Cabinet reshuffle.

Both Ross and Jack have let it be known they would quiz the final candidates on their approach to Scotland and its place in the UK before deciding who to back.

Mr Jack told the BBC on Tuesday that he was particularly keen to find out what the candidates would do in response to Nicola Sturgeon's call for another independence referendum.

None have expressed any enthusiasm for revisiting the independence debate but neither have they ruled out indyref2 forever. Instead, they have tended to adopt Boris Johnson's holding line that 'now is not the time'.

The Scottish secretary is also trying to ensure current policies like funding two green freeports in Scotland and spending some UK cash directly in Scotland through local authorities continue.

The Scottish Tories hope that whoever replaces Boris Johnson will be more popular than he was in Scotland and that the party's prospects in elections will be given a boost.

If they're right about that, a new PM could be bad news for the SNP as they renew their campaign for independence given that they have previously considered Mr Johnson as their best recruiting sergeant.

However, recent polling by YouGov for the pro-UK think tank These Islands suggested that switching PM to either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss would not necessarily boost support for the union.

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The first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, argues that because Scotland does not tend to vote Conservative, the Tory leadership race highlights a "democratic deficit" that independence would overcome.

In this contest, the former chancellor Rishi Sunak is being championed by West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP, Andrew Bowie.

Penny Mordaunt has finished second to Rishi Sunak in the first two rounds of voting among Tory MPs

The trade minister, Penny Mordaunt, has the backing of the MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, John Lamont - who until recently was a parliamentary aide to the foreign secretary, Liz Truss.

Ms Truss, who went to primary school in Paisley, has yet to reveal any high profile Scottish Tory backers.

That's also the case for the former equalities minister, Kemi Badenoch.

The chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, Tom Tugendhat, has been endorsed by the Conservative chief whip at Holyrood, Stephen Kerr MSP.

Both the Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid and David Mundell, the MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, have yet to declare their allegiances.

Mr Mundell, a former Scottish secretary, has expressed his wish that whoever takes over from Mr Johnson brings decency, integrity and competence to Number 10.

His view, which is widely shared at Westminster, is that after a chaotic period in UK politics it is time for "a drama-free prime minister".