Jamie Greene joins Scottish Liberal Democrats after quitting Conservatives

Jamie Greene was unveiled at the Lib Dem conference in Inverness on Friday, telling activists: "I'm not sure who's more surprised to see me here, you or me.”

He said many “compassionate, centre-right and decent Tories” are “simply scunnered with the endless culture wars and fringe issues that my former party has become obsessed with”.

The West Scotland MSP resigned from the Tory group in Holyrood on Thursday, telling party leader Russell Findlay: “I do not believe that I have left the Conservative Party. I believe that the party has left me.”

The development means the Lib Dems now have five MSPs in their Holyrood group and the Tories have 30.

Mr Greene was introduced to his new party at the conference in Inverness, being greeted on stage by Scottish leader Alex Cole-Hamilton ahead of a speech by UK leader Sir Ed Davey.

Speaking from the stage, Mr Greene said: “In these dangerous times we live in, let me be direct: the language of hatred, of right-wing populism, and of scapegoating must be fought against and must be defeated.”

He appealed to disillusioned Tories, telling them there is “light at the end of the tunnel”, and adding: “If you too want to fight the Trumpism that has appeared in our political backyards, if you feel the same way as I do, then there’s a home for you, and that home is here.

“I’ve said for some time, I think Scotland can be better. I think Scottish politics can do better.”

Mr Cole-Hamilton described him as one of Holyrood’s “most effective communicators” with a “selfless compassion which is seldom seen in our line of work”.

Announcing his resignation from the Scottish Tories on Thursday, Mr Greene lambasted the party’s leadership.

He said the party he once knew “simply no longer exists” due to shifting to the right to combat the threat of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

Writing to Mr Findlay, he said: “During the leadership election last year, I warned that we were giving up on the next generation of young Scots. I warned that we were deserting the middle ground.

“Instead, the party now rests its hopes on a Reform-lite agenda that appeals to the worst of our society, and not the best. Instead of proudly leading on equality, we now run the very serious and immediate risk of becoming once again the party of social division and morality wars.”

Mr Greene has been outspoken in his support for LGBT+ rights and defied the party’s opposition to the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Last year, Mr Greene put himself forward to run for Scottish Conservative leader after Douglas Ross stepped down, but later backed Murdo Fraser’s unsuccessful bid to lead the party.

Defections during the current session of the Scottish Parliament have been rare, though Ash Regan left the SNP to join the Alba Party in 2023.

Addressing the Lib Dem conference, Mr Davey accused the SNP of using the same "populist playbook" as Reform UK and Donald Trump. He said only his party could "truly defeat the populism and cynicism, and restore trust in our democracy".

A Scottish Tory source pointed to Mr Greene’s support for Brexit, which is at odds with the Lib Dem position on the EU.

A Tory spokesman said: “Our party will continue to respect the results of referendums and oppose the SNP’s dangerous gender ideology.”