Senior SNP ministers 'approached Tory MSP about defecting'

Senior SNP ministers approached a Conservative MSP about defecting to the Nationalists, it has been claimed.

Maurice Golden, a Tory MSP for the North East Scotland region, said he has received offers from every party in Holyrood except the Greens and Reform UK.

Mr Golden is a critic of the recent direction of the Scottish Tories under the leadership of Russell Findlay, and is standing down at the Holyrood election in May.

Maurice Golden MSP, pictured with his dog | National World

He warned his party is trying to “out-Reform Reform” in a doomed bid to deal with the threat posed by Mr Farage’s party.

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Speaking to the Holyrood Sources podcast, Mr Golden, who was first elected in 2016, said: “I just think we've moved so far away, in terms of the Conservative Party, from where I started. It’s like a different era from 2021.”

He said the shift was “deliberate” and “legitimate”. But Mr Golden added: “I disagree with it and, hand on heart, I’m standing down, but I couldn’t stand as a candidate for the Conservatives at the election next year.

“I haven't seen the manifesto, but I suspect the manifesto will say things that I fundamentally disagree with and are fundamentally different from our 2021 manifesto.

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“Therefore, it’s not a problem I’m going to have to face. But I would really struggle to do that - and that’s someone who has been a party member for 25 years and stood in seven elections over decades, so that’s quite a departure.”

He added: “I've had offers from every other party except the Greens and Reform, so I don’t know what that says.”

Asked if he was approached by the SNP, Mr Golden said: “Senior government ministers. To be fair, we had had a few drinks by this stage.”

He said the danger with trying to “out-Reform Reform” is that “people think, why have Pepsi when you can have Coke?”

The MSP said: “I think it's up to Russell Finlay to deploy the strategy that he wants. I personally think that the pie is always the biggest in the centre and that's where I would be going. That's the Ruth Davidson era, if you like.”

A Scottish Conservative spokesperson said: “The Scottish Conservatives will continue to stand up for hard-working Scots who are being failed by the SNP and Labour governments. Economic growth must be the top priority for both governments if we are to fix Scotland's public services.”