An adviser to David Cameron’s government has revealed plans to stand for election to the Scottish parliament next year. Adam Tomkins, one of the most respected pro-union voices of the referendum, said he wanted to become an MSP to challenge what he predicts will be another SNP government.
Professor Tomkins, an expert in public law at the University of Glasgow, will find out today whether he has been selected to fight a seat for the Scottish Conservatives. If he has, he will also be placed on a regional list.
He announced his intention to stand in a blog post yesterday. He said that if Nicola Sturgeon returned as first minister “the Scottish Conservatives are, at the least, extremely well placed to form the most robust, principled and effective opposition that any SNP administration has yet faced”.
He added: “Our solutions to Scotland’s problems are better than the SNP’s, even if we don’t tattoo the Saltire on every press release and policy announcement”.
Professor Tomkins has developed a considerable public profile in the past few years through his role in the independence debate. He was on the Tories’ Strathclyde Commission on further devolution and represented them on the cross-party Smith Commission on more powers.