'Rishi Sunak will bring unity and competence as Prime Minister', say Scottish Tories

Rishi Sunak has been backed by a group of Scottish Conservatives as he seeks to become the next prime minister.

The former chancellor is competing with Liz Truss in the contest to replace Boris Johnson in Downing Street.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, ten MPs and MSPs from Scotland outlined their support for Sunak to become the next Conservative leader.

The piece was signed by Scottish Conservative MPs Andrew Bowie and John Lamont.

And it was also backed by the party’s MSPs; Jackson Carlaw, Maurice Golden, Jeremy Balfour, Miles Briggs, Dean Lockhart, Donald Cameron, Alexander Stewart, and Liz Smith.

Sunak’s leadership rival Truss on Monday branded Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as an “attention seeker”, who is best ignored.

Keeping the UK together means confronting nationalism and beating them at the ballot box.

Only I have a plan to do this.

Delighted to have the support of 10 Scottish Conservative colleagues in today's Telegraph.https://t.co/qAYSau0cGq https://t.co/3cXn1rFhca pic.twitter.com/hfJ9im8m9M
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) August 2, 2022

In the article published in the Telegraph, the group of Scottish Conservatives argued their case for Sunak to become the next leader.

“To unite our party and our country. That is the first of four reasons why we are backing Rishi Sunak to be our next prime minister,” they wrote.

“Rishi is the best candidate to end the division in our party and to bring our whole United Kingdom together so that we can focus on the immense challenges ahead of us.”

The group argued that a pact between Labour and the SNP would put the future of the UK at risk, something they insisted “we cannot allow to happen”.

They also pointed to Sunak’s record as chancellor, as they claimed that he has an “impressive record of delivery in Scotland”, with levelling up funding to Scottish projects.

Sunak is a “proven leader”, they continued, as they said he had “acted decisively” to protect over one million Scottish jobs and almost 100,000 businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic.

They also insisted that the former chancellor has an “ambitious vision” for the future of the UK.

“He not only has a plan to win the next general election but also to support our Scottish party to finally kick the SNP government out of office too,” they wrote.

“He knows that competence and prosperity are not just a recipe for Conservative success across the UK, but also to beat the SNP.

“He has a plan which will work for Scotland and the whole of the UK. He wants to boost support for the Union by supporting our shared infrastructure and by investing directly in local communities – delivering schemes and projects that work for them.

“He has already laid out plans on how to cut crime, build the housing we need, tackle the NHS backlogs and so much more.”

The group said that Sunak’s ambitions for the UK and Scotland’s place within it are “unrivalled”.

“Under Rishi, management of the UK economy will be based on sound financial planning and improving productivity through enhancing skills and embracing new technology,” they continued.

“This will ensure long term credibility and ultimately prosperity not just for this generation but for future generations.

“Rishi Sunak’s ambitions for the United Kingdom and Scotland’s place within it are unrivalled.

“It is for these key reasons that we are all supporting Rishi and why we are urging our hugely valued and committed Scottish party members to do so as well.”

They added: “As our next prime minister, he will bring the unity, delivery, competence and ambition that will secure success for our party and country in these difficult times.