New Scottish Conservative leader to be announced

The Scottish Conservative Party will name its new leader later when it announces the result of a vote.More than 8,000 Scottish party members have spent the last few weeks voting for one of four candidates, by post.One of the front runners is current deputy leader Murdo Fraser, who wants to abolish the Scottish Conservatives in favour of a new centre-right party.MSPs Jackson Carlaw, Ruth Davidson and Margaret Mitchell are also in the running to replace Annabel Goldie.This time round, Tory members will be choosing a leader for the entire party in Scotland, not just among the MSP group.Miss Goldie, who has led the party since 2005, decided to step aside in the wake of the SNP's landslide election win in May, and the last UK election, during which the Conservatives returned only one Scottish MP.Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to her as a "no nonsense breath of fresh air in Scottish politics".Ballot paper counting is getting under way in Edinburgh shortly after midday, with the result expected as late as 1700 GMT.Those voting in the contest were asked to rank candidates in order of preference, with votes redistributed if there is no clear winner from the first count.During her last day as leader, Miss Goldie said: "It has been a great privilege to be the Scottish Conservative leader for the last six years."While there have undoubtedly been challenges and the occasional pothole in the road, these have been far outweighed by the honour of working with my MSP colleagues and our party members."Mr Cameron, added: "Annabel has been a no nonsense breath of fresh air in Scottish politics, and I pay tribute to the way she fought the campaign for the Scottish Parliament."