Truss and Sunak start the campaign for votes

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are the candidates who will compete for Conservative Party membership votes in the coming weeks

Despite all the talk of clean breaks and fresh starts, Conservative MPs have opted for experience in selecting the final two candidates for their party's leadership.

Both the foreign secretary, Liz Truss and the former chancellor, Rishi Sunak have operated at the top level in Cabinet and run key government departments.

That ought to be a plus but it also means they have records to defend and share responsibility for the Johnson era, which may be more politically challenging.

The Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross seems not to hold that against them, arguing that both candidates are "fully up to the task" of taking over as PM.

He has also pledged to work with whoever wins — to reset relations with the occupant of Number 10 after his relationship with Boris Johnson broke down over partygate.

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By contrast, Labour's shadow Scottish secretary, Ian Murray is trying to portray Sunak and Truss as "continuity candidates" and "Johnson stooges".

The SNP's Ian Blackford suggests "whoever wins, Scotland loses" because neither candidate, in his view, is likely to be endorsed by Scottish voters at a general election.

Of course, it is not political opponents in other parties the two finalists need to worry about right now.

Their immediate task is to persuade Conservative Party members across the UK to vote for them.

There are estimated to be around 160,000 of them including an undisclosed number of Scottish party members - perhaps around 10,000.

They will start receiving ballot papers early in August and will have a month to vote, with the winner declared on 5 September as the UK Parliament returns from its summer break.

Will the candidates succeed in Scotland?

The two candidates will tour the UK attending hustings events for party members over the summer with a Scottish debate scheduled for Perth on 16 August.

At this stage, Rishi Sunak has a more visible Scottish campaign with the former Scottish leader Ruth Davidson, several Tory MSPs and the MP Andrew Bowie having publicly declared their support.

Liz Truss has yet to establish a similar base. She had no known high profile Scottish Tory backers prior to the final ballot by Conservative MPs.

She has however declared that "some Scots love me" in an interview with the Spectator where she also described herself as a "child of the union", having gone to school in both Paisley and Leeds.

Ms Truss rejects another independence referendum on the basis that a generation has not passed since the 2014 vote.

Rishi Sunak has said indyref2 is "not the priority right now" when there are huge economic challenges to confront.

He has said he cares "very deeply" about the union and has pledged to make both emotional and practical arguments for its continuation and to do "anything and everything" to protect it.

Tax - the key battleground

Unionist credentials will be key to winning over many Scottish Tories but they will also be interested in the wider policy positions of the candidates.

The economy, especially tax, is likely to be a key battleground because while both Sunak and Truss describe themselves as tax-cutting Tories, their approaches are quite different.

Liz Truss wants to start cutting some taxes straight away, in the hope of boosting economic growth.

Rishi Sunak thinks that's a fantasy and argues that cuts must wait until the economy is stronger and inflation is under control.

A sample of Conservative party members by YouGov earlier this week suggested Liz Truss is currently more popular than Rishi Sunak - 54% to 35%. - among those who will decide that contest.

That could of course change over the next six weeks as both candidates are exposed to high levels of scrutiny. One Tory MP predicted a much more "open race" than the survey suggests.

Liz Truss has acknowledged that she is not the slickest media performer and what some senior Tories describe as her "wooden" style could impact on her prospects.

Rishi Sunak may struggle to be forgiven by some Tories for resigning as chancellor and precipitating Boris Johnson's resignation as party leader.

That is seen by some as treachery.

He is the multi-millionaire, Brexit-backing former chancellor who co-ordinated the economic response to the pandemic and imposed new taxes to help pay for it.

She is the comprehensive school-educated, student Lib Dem and born-again Brexiteer who has led the UK's diplomatic response to the war in Ukraine.

If appointed, Liz Truss would be the third female prime minister of the UK. Rishi Sunak - the first from a black or Asian minority ethnic background.

Whoever wins will have to fight a general election within two and half years and while Conservative party members choose between them, Boris Johnson remains in charge.