Tom Tugendhat's 'change' pledge to Scottish industry if he wins Tory leadership race

The shadow security minister described Aberdeen as a “global powerhouse” of energy, as well as stressing his support for Scotch whisky.

His comments come as the Tonbridge MP meets with Tory activists in Scotland this week as he seeks to build support for his leadership campaign. Mr Tugendhat has already been backed by a third of Scottish Tory MSPs.

Speaking exclusively to The Scotsman, he said: “The truth is I want to not only lead the Conservative party, but I want to be prime minister of the United Kingdom, because I want to make sure that Scotland's industry succeeds across the world.

“Already, I've been in Aberdeen speaking with Offshore Energies UK bodies about the transformation from carbon to renewable energy, and the investment that they’re making and that we need to make, not just in business, but also from the public sector to make sure those businesses succeed.

“We get that right, and we will be absolutely driving the change in energy not just in the UK, but around the world. And we’ll be creating jobs that will be in massive demand all over the world. That's exactly what I'll be doing, I'll be making sure that we champion opportunity and employment across Scotland and across the United Kingdom.

“When you look at what Aberdeen has achieved over 50 years, it has become the global powerhouse of the energy industry. What I'd like to see is the the kind of investment that we made in energy in the ‘60s and ‘70s reflected in renewable energy today.”

Turning to the Scottish Government, Mr Tugendhat claimed the SNP was hindering growth.

He said: “The truth is, this is also about taxes. The way that the SNP have run Scotland for the last 17 years has basically put people off. Higher taxes, worse education, and now higher drug deaths.

“That's not a way to attract business, that's no way to generate growth. As the leader of the Conservative party, I'll make sure that we will be holding to account not just Keir Starmer in Westminster, but John Swinney and whoever follows him in Holyrood.”

Asked about challenges for Scotch whisky and fisheries, Mr Tugendhat insisted he wasn’t interested in going over old debates around Brexit.

He said: “What I'm focused on is making sure the Scottish fishermen are able to prosper in the United Kingdom, to sell their goods as globally as is possible. Fish, of course, it’s trickier, but as globally as possible. Also to make sure that they have the opportunity to get the investment and support that they need.”

Mr Tugendhat revealed he would add a few drops of whisky to large water bottles to give it a flavour while in the military.

He said: “I was in the Glenkinshie Distillery this morning and all I can say is I'm a big fan of their work. Over operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, every now and then I used to put a couple of drops of whisky into - and only a couple of drops into - my water bottle because otherwise it tasted of rubber and plastic.

“Even a couple of drops really raises morale, and it means that you're drinking something you like to drink, rather than some sort of tasteless plasticky water.”