Murdo Fraser: Now an MSP

The Conservatives have gained a new face in the Scottish parliament as Murdo Fraser took up the seat left vacant by the resignation of Nick Johnston.

Fraser becomes the first member of the Scottish parliament to take up a position without the need for a by-election as Johnston was a regional list MSP for the constituency of Mid-Scotland and Fife. Fraser was the next name on the Conservative regional list from the 1999 election.

Fraser's move into the Scottish parliament came amid the acrimonious departure of Nick Johnston.

He resigned in the summer citing health grounds, saying: "I have been touched by the kindness shown to me by colleagues from all parties during my absence and have not been too surprised by the callous use of my illness by some in my own party to advance their own careers."

That statement prompted Scottish Conservative chairman Raymond Robertson to say Johnston had "rarely been a team player and despite being elected as a Conservative member was often uncomfortable voting for common sense policies".

However, the resignation allowed Fraser to take up an elected position for the first time after many years of trying.

He has a strong record in finishing second at elections, beginning with standing at the East Lothian seat at Westminster in the 1997 election, where he finished 14,221 votes behind Labour.

He stood in Tayside North for the Scottish parliament in 1999 and came second behind the SNP. He stood again in Tayside at the 2001 general election and again came second, this time 3283 votes behind the SNP.

The new MSP said of his surprise appointment: "It is a pleasant surprise to be suddenly elevated to the position of MSP half way through the term of this parliament. I feel like the team substitute, called from the bench at the midway point in the game to freshen up the side, and hopefully score a few goals."

Fraser, 35, was educated at Inverness Royal Academy and graduated from Aberdeen University in 1986. After graduating he did a postgraduate Diploma in Legal Studies and went on to work as a solicitor in Aberdeen and Edinburgh. He specialises in commercial and agricultural law.

He married Emma in 1994 and they live in Alyth, Perthshire.

It was university where the right-winger first became active in politics and was chairman of the Scottish Young Conservatives from 1989 to 1992.

He was the first Scot to be elected chairman of national Young Conservatives, a position he held for one year from 1991. He also became deputy chairman of Edinburgh Central Conservative Association from 1995.

Fraser is a founding committee member of the Scottish Conservative Countryside Forum and was the Scottish Conservative spokesman on Land Reform from 1998 to 1999.

He cites his interests away from politics as climbing the Munros, Scottish history, travel and supporting Rangers FC.

Fraser is also a member of the Conservative Christian Fellowship, which proclaims: "Our allegiance to the Conservative Party is secondary and subservient to our faith."

He is also a member of the Scottish Tory think tank, the "Tuesday Club" which was formed in 1996 as a right-wing forum for debate and discussion. It raised eyebrows when it objected to a radical overhaul of Scotland's feudal land ownership system on the grounds that it could lead to the Anglicisation of Scots law.

In the Scottish parliament, Fraser will no doubt be working closely with another Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP, Brian Monteith, with whom he has been closely politically associated.

Monteith was also a former chairman of the Scottish Young Conservatives, a co-founder of the Tuesday Club and was also a founder and co-ordinator of the "Think Twice" No-No campaign in the Scottish parliament referendum.

Before taking his seat in the Scottish parliament, however, Fraser's name has already been raised in the main chamber, causing some discomfort to his fellow party members.

In a debate on the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Bill in September 1999, SNP spokesman Andrew Wilson raised Fraser's involvement in a pamphlet he said supported the SNP's position on fiscal autonomy for the Scottish parliament. Replying for the Conservatives, Annabel Goldie said that Fraser wasn't on the benches for which she spoke and added: "I shall refrain from comment."

Described as a "right-winger from the Michael Forsyth stable", Fraser has already been touted in the Scotsman newspaper as a potential future leader of the Scottish Conservatives.

However, for the current party leadership contest he has come out in strong support of Iain Duncan Smith, citing Europe and the euro as a central issue in the campaign. Fraser argued the party should unite behind a eurosceptic position and said that Kenneth Clarke would find it difficult to unite the party.

He has said that Clarke had lots of "baggage from the past" after his positions in the Major government before its election defeat.

He described Duncan as capable of "radical thinking" and bringing forward "new ideas".

On being sworn-into his new seat on Wednesday afternoon, Fraser will be in a position to introduce his own brand of "radical thinking" to fellow Conservative MSPs.

"With our party selecting a new leader, and us thinking about policies for the 2003 elections, this is an exciting time to become a Tory MSP. I hope that I can bring fresh thinking and new ideas to our parliamentary group," he said.