ELECTION campaigning to choose a new leader of the Scottish Conservatives reached Dumfries on Friday when high-profile candidate Russell Findlay visited the town.
He spoke at a meeting for local party members at the Cairndale Hotel which was chaired by new Dumfries and Galloway MP John Cooper.
Mr Findlay, who is Shadow Justice Secretary, went on to answer wide-ranging questions from a large conference room audience drawn from across the region.
His candidature has been endorsed by Scotland’s five Conservative Westminster MPs, including John Cooper and long-serving Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale representative David Mundell.
Mr Findlay is also supported by at least 12 of the party’s MSPs with Dumfriesshire constituency MSP Oliver Mundell, who helped organise the meeting, amongst their ranks.
A joint-statement issued after the meeting by Oliver Mundell and his father David Mundell read: “Russell Findlay has the qualities needed to take the party forward and to replicate the success the Scottish Conservatives have enjoyed here in Dumfries and Galloway.
“His background as an investigative journalist for three decades, much of that time specialising in exposing criminal gangs, stands him in good stead.
“Over those years he spoke up for the victims of crime and held the powerful to account. During this time he was injured but managed to restrain a knife-wielding attacker who threw acid at him at his home.
“Russell is a straight-talker who understands people, knows what their lives are like and is genuinely interested in providing practical solutions to problems they face.
“He clearly has the ability to deliver the changes the party needs to succeed.”
The local parliamentarians urged Conservative members in the region to consider supporting Russell Findlay when they receive their ballot papers this week.
