THE Scottish Conservatives are preparing for more high-profile defections and resignations before the 2026 Holyrood elections, reports say.
Russell Findlay’s MSP group has seen two damaging exits in recent months, with Jamie Greene’s defection to the LibDems in April being followed by Jeremy Balfour’s resignation from the party earlier in August.
Both accused Findlay – whose right-wing, Unionist voter base is particularly vulnerable to the rise of Reform UK – of leading the party increasingly towards populism and reactionary politics.
Now, a Tory insider has said that they expect the number of resignations to ramp up, especially after the rankings for the 2026 regional lists are confirmed.
“The party was very worried something like this might happen,” a source told the Edinburgh Evening News. “But not until after the rankings, if people are placed low down.
“So, there may be more resignations to come next year – and it’s always worse closer to the election.”
It had been noted that Balfour’s resignation came with him sitting third on the Tories regional list for the Lothians in 2021, a position that is unlikely to win a seat in Holyrood in 2026 on current polling figures.
In Glasgow, one of the Tories’ only two councillors, Thomas Kerr, defected to Reform UK at the start of 2025.
At the time, his former Conservative colleagues suggested the move had been in anticipation of topping the Glasgow regional list for Nigel Farage’s party, winning a Holyrood seat that he could not have with the Tories due to the amount of competition.
If sitting MSPs or ambitious councillors are unhappy with their positions on regional lists, they may be tempted to jump ship before the 2026 elections to heighten their chances of winning a seat in parliament.
Speaking in Glasgow on Monday, Findlay said he was “obviously disappointed” to have lost his second MSP in one year.
“We are working tirelessly to bring forward proper, conservative policies, rooted in our values and that’s a process which every MSP is part of,” Findlay said.
“It’s only by doing so, it’s only by talking to the public about what we would do differently, about why Scotland needs to change, that we can hope to remove the SNP.
“That’s why everyone in this room and everyone I’ve been speaking to all summer understand the seriousness of that.
“Just because things are tough, doesn’t mean that we leave the pitch. We have to re-double our efforts because what we stand for is correct.”
The 25-minute speech in Glasgow’s Trades Hall on Monday was billed as an announcement of Tory plans to give more powers to local councils and communities.
However, Findlay – having derided SNP ministers for making statements in Holyrood which are “light on detail” – said the proposals would be laid out in a policy paper to be released “in due course”.
He said local councils would see bigger budgets under a Tory-led Scottish Government, as well as an end to ring-fencing – where ministers provide cash to authorities with instructions on how it is spent – and the devolution of more power to council chambers.
