UK Conservative leadership contest: Move to the right presents challenge for Scottish Tories

The three-month contest has had its twists and turns as the original field of six was whittled down by MPs to the final two - Ms Badenoch and former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick.

Kemi Badenoch is tipped to beat Robert Jenrick in the Tory leadership race | UK Parliament/PA Wire

And now the final choice is being made by the Tory members up and down the country - the same people who brought us Liz Truss and her disastrous 49-day premiership.

Ms Badenoch - who would be the Tories' fourth female leader and the second from an ethnic minority - had a 24-point lead over Mr Jenrick in the Conservative Home website's final poll of the contest.

She is regarded as more charismatic than her last remaining opponent, who is seen, according to one insider, as "too much of a typical Tory".

Both, however, are very much on the right of the party. Predictions that former Home Secretary James Cleverly would make it into the final two were upended in the final round of MPs' voting by what was suspected to be a botched attempt at tactical voting.

And for Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay - who has remained resolutely neutral in the contest - the new UK leader and the move to the right present what sources call "a challenge".

Most Tory MSPs backed the more moderate Tom Tugendhat until he was eliminated and then there was a surge of support for Mr Cleverly.  But neither Ms Badenoch nor Mr Jenrick have shown much affinity with Scotland.

Asked about Scottish independence and whether the Union was voluntary, Ms Badenoch said: "A voluntary Union doesn't mean people can just press a button at any point and it all unravels." And Mr Jenrcik has said he would not consult Holyrood about his plan to take the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights.

One insider says: “If you look at their careers so far, I think it’s fair to say neither of them have taken a huge interest in Scotland. There’s a big job of work to be done even to get them to have an understanding of the situation.”