Conservative Central Office: May lose influence over Scottish Tories

Scottish Tories May Split From Party

The Tories were wiped out in Scotland at the last election and it is thought that by breaking its links with the English party after twenty years, the party may stand a better chance of securing number of seats in the government's planned Scottish parliament.

An independent Scottish party would be able to elect its own leader and select its own candidates. Under the present system, the Scottish leader is chosen by the party leader, and candidates are selected from an approved list from Central Office in London.

Annabel Goldie, Chairman of Conservative Central Office in Scotland, has said that she thinks members will call for radical changes in the party's set-up. She has reportedly told party members that "Nothing is off limits" for discussion at the conference.

Miss Goldie told The Independent that the Scottish Conservatives would be able to support itself financially, but that it would retain strong links with the English party due to the shared commitment to the Union.

Malcom Rifkind, the former Foreign Secretary who lost his seat at the election, has been mentioned as a possible leader. He has said, in an article for The Scotsman, that the Scottish party should reform as a modern unionist party with its own funding and a separate identity to the English party.