Scottish Tory leadership race ramps up 

Back to Scotland, where the third official candidate in the Scottish Tory leadership contest has been announced. Meghan Gallacher, the current deputy of the party, has entered the race following weeks of speculation about whether she would stand. Calling for a party ‘reset’, Gallacher insists she wants to build a ‘modern, centre right party’ focusing on the right to buy a home and support for pensioners and parents.‘Scotland knows what we stand against,’ she declared in a Twitter video posted this morning, ‘but do they know what we stand for?’ Ouch.

Douglas Ross’s second-in-command joins ex-Olympian Brian Whittle and justice spokesperson Russell Findlay in the race to become the next party leader, with more announcements expected down the line. While former athlete Whittle isn’t going easy on sporting metaphors — announcing he will help the party ‘prepare for the next race’ — former investigative reporter Findlay has blasted the ‘self-satisfied left-wing intelligentsia’ that he believes makes up most of the Scottish political class, and has pledged to help the party ‘reconnect with our traditional values’.