The Scottish Conservatives defied expectations in the last Holyrood election and can do so again on Thursday, according to the party’s former leader.

Douglas Ross, who on Monday joined his successor Russell Findlay on the campaign trail, said his party remains the strongest possible opposition to the SNP.

He also hailed how the Tories have stood up to the SNP Government on a series of key policy issues in the last five years as the biggest opposition party and claimed a number of ministerial scalps.

Mr Findlay also claimed that the Tories are used to getting written off but are the only party ‘with the balls to take on the SNP’.

It comes as polls indicate the Scottish Conservatives are in danger of falling to fourth or fifth place following Thursday’s Holyrood elections.

Mr Ross, who is standing down at this election but joined Mr Findlay campaigning in support of Edinburgh South West candidate Sue Webber, said: ‘It gives a real reassurance to voters that if they use their secret weapon, that peach ballot paper, to support the Scottish Conservatives they can trust that will work to stop an SNP majority, because that is the message we gave them in 2016 and 2021 and we delivered on it.

‘The most important poll is the one on Thursday and I think we have defied expectations in the past and can do it again under Russell’s leadership. 

'He has had a great campaign telling it straight to the voters, being honest with them about the challenges Scotland is facing and coming up with credible solutions.

‘In terms of what we have achieved in opposition, you just have to look at some of the large areas of policy that were shaped by our intervention – for example, our opposition to Nicola Sturgeon’s dangerous gender recognition reform act when we were the only party opposing that in Holyrood and setting out clearly the failures of that legislation, and of course it was a Scottish Conservative Secretary of State for Scotland who then rejected it at a UK level. That’s just one example.

‘Be it the high taxation of the SNP, be it their attack on free speech, it was always the Scottish Conservatives as the main opposition who were really taking the fight to the SNP and preventing some of this dangerous SNP policy being enacted from Holyrood.’

He also highlighted that Ms Sturgeon faced months of difficult questioning from the Tories on issues like the case of transgender prisoner Isla Bryson entering a women’s jail before she quit as First Minister, while her successor Humza Yousaf was facing a Tory no confidence motion when he stood down from the top role and former Health Secretary Michael Matheson and Parliamentary Business Minister Jamie Hepburn were also forced out of office.

On the level of scrutiny the SNP would face if Reform become the biggest opposition party, he said: ‘Well that’s why I am determined that we get as many Scottish Conservatives across the line on Thursday elected to Holyrood under Russell’s leadership, because I know we are the tried and tested method of being the strongest opposition and the highest level of scrutiny to a failing SNP government.

‘I hope John Swinney is not re-elected but if he is we need to make sure that scrutiny on the SNP continues to be as strong as possible.’

Former Scottish Tory leaders Mr Ross, Jackson Carlaw and Ruth Davidson have joined Mr Findlay on the campaign trail on consecutive days over the May bank holiday weekend.

Mr Findlay said: ‘We are used to being written off and I’m delighted that Douglas is here to remind people that in 2021 by people across Scotland uniting on the peach ballot paper for the Scottish Conservatives that’s how we stopped Nicola Sturgeon getting a majority back then and that’s exactly how we can stop John Swinney getting a majority this week.

‘We are going nowhere, we are up for the fight, we are the only party that has got the balls to take on the SNP and we are the only party with the strength to stand up for the Union and mean it.’