Scottish Tory leadership hopeful Murdo Fraser has reportedly revived hopes of a split from the Westminster party more than a decade after his colleagues rejected the plans.
Mr Fraser stood to be the Holyrood party's leader in 2011 when he advocated for a split in the parties, though he ultimately lost to Ruth Davidson.
The Conservatives had a relatively successful General Election in Scotland, retaining five of their six seats, amid a disastrous result for the party as a whole.
Their vote share crumbled to just 13% in Scotland though, which has led to concern ahead of the 2026 Scottish Election given it's more proportional system.
Mr Fraser, who has been an MSP since 2001, is said to be keen on taking over from Douglas Ross as leader of the Scottish Conservatives when he stands down in due course.
A source told The Times that Mr Fraser's campaign "looks like Murdo 2.0 but an improved version of the separate party".
Meanwhile, Liz Smith, an experienced MSP who previously supported Mr Fraser, told The Telegraph there may be hunger for a separation north of the border.
She said: "We have suffered from the various problems at Westminster, not least a perception of a lack of integrity and trust. A lot of voters believed the party down south had not behaved well. So a separate party has to be part of the mix.
“Times have moved on and there is still validity to Murdo’s call. Everybody recognises it was his brainchild."
The party's Scottish management board is due to meet today to discuss the process for the leadership contest.
Other names rumoured to be standing include justice spokesman Russell Findlay, party chairman Craig Hoy and education spokesman, and North-east MSP Liam Kerr.