CHANGE is a “matter of survival” for the Scottish Tories, leadership hopeful Murdo Fraser said today.

He welcomed the backing of two other MSPs who dropped out of the race and called on his remaining rivals, Russell Findlay and Meghan Gallacher, to do the same.

In a speech, Mr Fraser pitched himself as the candidate for change, borrowing a phrase from Kate Forbes’s SNP leadership bid: “continuity won’t cut it.”