Exclusive:Tory MSP accuses Russell Findlay of 'dismantling Ruth Davidson era' to mimic Reform
One of Russell Findlay’s MSPs has hit out at his net zero U-turn - warning it is pandering to Reform, anti-business and anti-science.
A Conservative MSP has accused Russell Findlay of “dismantling the Ruth Davidson era” over the party’s controversial net zero U-turn.
Mr Findlay is facing pressure from his backbenchers after the Scottish Conservative leader backed UK leader Kemi Badenoch, who claimed the 2050 UK-wide net zero target was “impossible” to achieve without “bankrupting the country”.
The Scottish Conservative leader told The Scotsman that Scotland’s 2045 net zero target should be looked at to avoid “economic sabotage”, adding politicians “cannot keep pretending that it's reasonable” to achieve the target.
But one of Mr Findlay’s own MSPs has criticised the move, echoing the in-fighting seen during the end of Douglas Ross’s tenure as leader.
North East Scotland MSP, Maurice Golden, has told The Scotsman that his party’s change of heart on net zero threatens economic growth and risks turning the party’s back on the success of Ms Davidson’s leadership. He suggested the Tories are pandering to the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Speaking to The Scotsman, Mr Golden said: “The cost of inaction on climate change is far greater than tackling it. As the UK Climate Change Committee has made clear, net zero by 2045 is entirely achievable for Scotland.”
He added: “Tackling climate change and economic growth go hand in hand - whether that be renewables to power our future or recycling to improve efficiency, it all means jobs and opportunities.
“Recent attempts to change the Conservative approach to climate change are extremely concerning. This looks like the dismantling of the Ruth Davidson era in a cheap way to mimic Reform.”
Under Ms Davidson’s leadership, the Scottish Conservatives enjoyed relative success at the Holyrood ballot box, with the party appealing to a broad base of support.
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Mr Findlay’s party is facing a real threat from Reform UK. Polls suggest Mr Farage’s party could cut the Conservative representation at Holyrood in half at next year’s election.
Polling expert and the founder of Diffley Partnership, Mark Diffley, said “at an obvious level”, Mr Findlay’s pushback against net zero targets goes against “eight in ten of voters being concerned about climate change”.
But he stressed “while voters see climate change as a big issue and a real thing, net zero is a different matter”.
Mr Diffley said: “People are uncertain about what it is and what they should be doing about it. Most voters do not really know what’s effective. Net zero feels like a distant thing - it feels like something in the future that is not really engaging with voters at the moment.
“I would be staggered if anti-net zero is not a really strong part of Reform’s manifesto or pitch next year. That’s most likely to appeal to disaffected Tory voters.”
He added: “I think what Reform and Kemi Badenoch and Russell Findlay is doing is say there’s a cosy consensus on this and there has been for quite a while.
“They will say what people want is help to pay their bills and get a job and Reform will almost certainly be putting forward that argument next year. It will likely get traction and feed into that voter uncertainty.”
First Minister John Swinney told The Scotsman that Mr Findlay’s position was “utterly irresponsible”, adding he “read those comments with horror”.
Mr Swinney said: “I had a Conservative member questioning me last week about wild fires in Scotland in March. If that’s not an illustration of climate change, I don’t know what is.
“We’ve got to take responsible actions. What Russell Findlay and what Kemi Badenoch has said is just ludicrous. The Conservatives have supported all of the stretching targets on climate action in Scotland. For them now to say that they don’t is just utterly irresponsible.”
The First Minister said Mr Golden had “a really strong track record of arguing for climate action”.
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Asked by The Scotsman whether he was concerned about Holyrood losing a consensus on net zero, Mr Swinney said: “I do hope that we still have consensus.”
He added: “That also matters for investment. If investors look at our Parliament, which they’ve been able to look at for 25 years, and see that the institution is serious about climate change and renewable energy, then that attracts investment.
“If we suddenly have the Conservatives saying ‘well actually we’re going to rethink that’, that jeopardises investment.”
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