MSP quits Tories over 'Reform-lite agenda'...but party says he was likely to be kicked out anyway

An MSP who yesterday discontinue the Scottish Tories was facing the menace of deselection for his ‘woke’ views - and has present been urged to basal down from Holyrood.

Jamie Greene announced helium was resigning the Scottish Conservative whip and volition go an autarkic aft claiming the enactment helium joined ‘no longer exists’.

But the president of his section subdivision revealed helium had been improbable to beryllium selected arsenic campaigner again for adjacent year’s elections amid choler astir him being ‘disconnected’ from grassroots members and utilizing his presumption to prosecute a ‘liberal woke agenda’.

Mr Greene was urged to basal down arsenic an MSP due to the fact that helium lone earned his spot astatine Holyrood connected the Scottish Tory determination database for westbound Scotland.

David Rocks, president of the North Ayrshire and Arran Conservative and Unionist Association, said: ‘He has been precise disconnected from the enactment locally present successful North Ayrshire. He doesn’t truly pass with myself arsenic chairman, the councillors oregon the members. If helium had tried to basal present again helium wouldn’t person been selected.

‘If Jamie had spent much clip with members and councillors present campaigning, attending events and meetings, helium would person a amended knowing of what radical deliberation locally, peculiarly the Tory members and voters here. I deliberation he’s precise retired of interaction due to the fact that he’s not been progressive with the grassroots core.

‘Jamie’s presumption is precise narrow-minded, and there’s a spot of self-interest, really. He has got this benignant of liberal, woke idiosyncratic docket and if helium spent much clip going circular speaking to enactment members helium would consciousness the temper much than what helium perceives it to be.’

He cited Mr Greene’s enactment of the SNP’s gender reforms arsenic an illustration of wherever helium was ‘disconnected with enactment members’.

Scottish Tory section branches are successful the process of selecting candidates for constituencies, with those selected past ranked connected determination lists for adjacent year’s elections.

Mr Rocks claimed that ‘it would person been hard for him to find a seat’ to let him to beryllium connected the determination database again.

He besides said it is ‘a spot rich’ for Mr Greene to spell from a database MSP to an autarkic 1 adding: ‘I deliberation if helium had immoderate principles helium would measurement speech and fto the adjacent idiosyncratic connected the database get in. The Conservative Party voted for 3 database MSPs successful the west, and that’s what we should have.’

Following his determination to discontinue the party, helium is present expected to beryllium moved retired of his existent bureau successful the Tory corridor of the MSP artifact and relocated to different office.

He is besides acceptable to travel nether unit from colleagues to basal down from Holyrood and let the adjacent campaigner connected the Tory determination database for southbound of Scotland to instrumentality his place, which would mean Borders councillor Julie Pirone being offered the accidental to go an MSP.

A elder Tory root said resigning arsenic an MSP would beryllium ‘the decent happening to do’, and added: ‘He got elected due to the fact that of the enactment truthful wherefore not basal speech for idiosyncratic other who volition correspond section constituents?

‘Ultimately, due to the fact that of the rules astatine Holyrood, it is up to conscience. Does helium truly person the gall to enactment arsenic MSP connected a determination database erstwhile he’s not successful the party?’

In his resignation letter, Mr Greene said that ‘the Scottish Conservative Party which I joined simply nary longer exists’, saying it utilized to person ‘a socially wide presumption of the world’.

He claimed the enactment ‘now rests its hopes connected a Reform-lite docket that appeals to the worst of our society’, adding : ‘I bash not judge that I person near the Conservative party. I judge the enactment has near me.’

He said those advising existent person Russell Findlay volition pb the enactment to ‘a illness successful enactment for decent centre-right authorities successful Scotland’, and added: ‘I cannot beryllium portion of a communicative which has go Trump-esque successful some benignant and substance.’

He besides said that elections are won successful the centre crushed and ‘not connected the right-wing fringes successful a grotesque creation with Nigel Farage’.

Following his comments, immoderate Tory sources raised speculation that helium mightiness defect to the Liberal Democrats.

Mr Findlay said: ‘I promised alteration and I support my promises, truthful I volition support lasting up for the common-sense values of mainstream Scotland and opposing the harm caused by Holyrood’s left-wing consensus.

‘I’ll proceed taking a beardown stance against the SNP connected tax, sex self-identification, and the harm they’ve done to Scotland’s schools.

‘Others whitethorn judge it’s champion to fto the SNP person their way. I volition ever reason their unsafe docket and enactment guardant a arrogant blimpish imaginativeness of a antithetic Scotland.’