I have 100% confidence in Findlay despite defections, says Badenoch

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “100% confident” in Scottish party leader Russell Findlay, despite three MSP defections this year.

Graham Simpson became the most recent MSP to leave the Scottish Tories, defecting to Reform UK in a shock announcement last week.

Jeremy Balfour announced the week before he would sit for the rest of the session as an independent, while Jamie Greene left for the Lib Dems earlier this year.

There has also been a steady stream of councillors defecting to Reform since the end of last year.

But despite losing almost 10% of the party’s MSP group at Holyrood, Mrs Badenoch said she still supports Scottish leader Russell Findlay.

“Absolutely, I’m 100% confident Russell is the right person,” she told journalists during a visit to Aberdeen on Tuesday.

“What we are about now is not telling people what they want to hear, but having a proper plan for Scotland and for the United Kingdom.

“That is why I’m standing here in the Port of Aberdeen, talking about something that really matters to people here.”

The Tory leader announced this week her party supports maximum exploitation of North Sea oil and gas.

When she was heading to the north-east of Scotland, Mrs Badenoch claimed people on her flight had told her “Aberdeen is dying” and pleaded “please help us”.

While Mr Findlay has struck a conciliatory tone when members have defected or quit the party – usually describing it as “disappointing” – Mrs Badenoch was much more bullish.

“If (Reform UK leader Nigel Farage) is taking people out of our party who are not conservatives, he is welcome to them,” she said.

“We have lost people because they wanted us to spend more on social security.

“Nigel Farage wants to spend more on welfare, he wants to part-nationalise the oil and gas industry, that would be a disaster.

“We are the Conservative Party, we’re the party of business and we want people to know that we are serious.”

Asked specifically about Mr Simpson’s defection after having first joined the party at just 15 years old, the Tory leader said: “If there are people who join other parties because they think they have a better chance of winning, that means they’re doing this for the wrong reasons.

“This is about public service and what I’m really grateful for is the leadership that Russell Findlay is showing at a very difficult time.”