It is safe to say that 2024 has been a year which has forced political parties to look themselves in the mirror and reflect on their future.

The SNP have suffered their worst defeat for over a decade, and their campaign for a second independence referendum is finally on the shelf for the time being.

Labour are back in government at Westminster for the first time in 14 years, but are quickly finding out that balancing the country’s finances isn’t as easy as it looks.

At the same time, our Conservative colleagues in Westminster are out of government and find themselves adjusting to life on the opposition benches for at least the next five years.

However, the Scottish Conservatives certainly haven’t been immune from a period of forced self-reflection. The result of July’s election, and the subsequent departure of our previous leader Douglas Ross, has caused us to spend the last three months seeking new leadership.

Unsurprisingly, there was no shortage of talented candidates making their pitch to become Holyrood’s next leader of the opposition.

The leadership contest itself may have seen some unnecessary bouts of friendly fire, but last week we finally learned that members have chosen Russell Findlay to lead our party into the 2026 Scottish Elections and beyond.

It is now vitally important for the whole party to unite behind Russell as he sets about taking our party in a bold new direction. Personally, as someone who backed Russell’s leadership bid from day one, I have no doubt that our party has made the right decision.

Russell understands the importance of winning back the public’s trust in our party, but he also understands that we can only do this by reaching out to everyone who has been left feeling alienated by the political system.

This includes every voter who feels that parties don’t properly represent them, or who believe that all political parties – and all politicians – are basically the same. Unfortunately, the truth is that there are many Scottish Conservative voters who feel this way.

Many of those who would normally support our party feel that they no longer understand what the party stands for, or what it offers Scottish voters aside from opposition to the SNP.

Russell has been clear that to win back these voters, we need to rediscover our fundamental principles of ‘hard work, self-reliance, and fairness for taxpayers’. In other words, we need to become Scotland’s party of common sense.

Russell has the character, the integrity and the policy to lead our party to genuine change – and hopefully, genuine success. I congratulate Russell on his victory, and I look forward to playing my part in helping our party become the only credible alternative to the cosy consensus that has dominated Scottish politics for far too long.