EDINBURGH, Scotland, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- A candidate for leadership of the Scottish Conservative Party plans to reconstitute the party under a different name if he wins, The Telegraph said Saturday.
Malcolm Fraser, a lawyer and member of the Scottish Parliament who is considered the front-runner for party leadership, thinks the Conservatives have become a "toxic brand" to the Scottish electorate, The Telegraph said. His plan is to create a Scottish center-right party.
Fraser is expected to announce his leadership bid and his plans for the party Monday.
The existing party dates from 1965, when the Scottish Unionist Party merged with the Conservative Party of England and Wales.
In 1997, the party suffered a crushing defeat when it lost all its Scottish seats in the British Parliament in the Labor landslide, and it remains at best the No. 3 party north of the border.
Earlier this year, the Scottish National Party won an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament for the first time, allowing it to raise the prospect of Scottish independence.
Prime Minister David Cameron, on his annual visit to Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle, has decided not to get involved, The Telegraph said. Other Conservative leaders have reportedly warned Fraser breaking up the party could be a prelude to a breakup of the United Kingdom.
