Lothian Tory MSP snubbed by leadership over Holyrood election list

A Tory MSP who has been selected to fight the party’s top target seat in the Capital has been denied the endorsement of the leadership in the crucial process of ranking list candidates for the Holyrood elections in May.

Gordon Lindhurst is standing in the party's top Edinburgh target seat but has not been given an endorsement for the Lothian list

The snub to Gordon Lindurst, a Lothian list MSP since 2016, could mean he is pushed down the rankings when party members and supporters vote to decide the order of candidates on the list, meaning he fails to get re-elected.

He is understood to be one of four sitting Tory MSPs who failed to win an endorsement from a specially-appointed central selection panel chaired by Holyrood leader Ruth Davidson which for the first time is highlighting candidates they consider of special merit.

The other two Lothian Tory MSPs seeking re-election, Miles Briggs and Jeremy Balfour, have both been endorsed.

Mr Lindhurst was chosen by members of Edinburgh Pentlands as their candidate to fight what was once the Tories’s safest seat in the Capital, beating off competition from Mr Briggs and Pentland Hills councillor Susan Webber. He stood there in 2016 as well, finishing second with a slightly increased share of the vote, but was elected to parliament from third slot on the Lothian list.

A party insider said the decision not to endorse Mr Lindhurst was a surprise. "It basically means the panel has decided 'We don't think you're good enough'. Gordon has a lot of critics in Central Office – they feel as an MSP he's not focused enough on campaigning. But he fulfils a different role – he's quite good at scrutiny in committees, he does good casework and he's been selected in one of our target constituencies.”

An online hustings for members and supporters to hear the candidates takes place tonight with voting packs going out after that.

The insider said: “There will be a letter from Ruth referring to the endorsed candidates and on the CVs of all the endorsed candidates there is going to be a big banner at the top saying 'Endorsed'. I don't know another electoral system in the world where you get your ballot papers but you're told who to vote for.”

The rankings are due to be announced in early March.

Mr Lindhurst declined to comment.

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