Four Glasgow conservative councillors are looking to swap the City Chambers for Holyrood.

More than half of the current Tory group at the city chambers have been selected as candidates for the Scottish Parliament election next May.

Having been elected to Glasgow City Council in 2017 swelling the Tory group at the City Chambers from one to eight, which subsequently reduced to seven when Tony Curtis left the party this year, they are looking to contest seats at Holyrood.

The four have been selected as candidates and are standing in seats where their current council ward is located.

Two of them have stood at Holyrood before in 2016 a year before they were elected as councillors.

Given the majorities won by the SNP in 2016 and the Tories in third place in each of the seats all four would be considered outsiders in the contests.

The Glasgow Times asked if they would be standing down as councillors and if they a had a message for their current council constituents.

Group leader, Thomas Kerr, is standing in Shettleston, where he is a councillor.

He stood in 2016 coming third behind The SNP and Labour with 12% of the vote.

Euan Blockley, Linn councilor is standing in Cathcart, where the SNP have a 9000 majority with the Tories third last time.

Ade Aibinu, Victoria Park councillor, is standing in Anniesland where the party was also third in 2016 and Kyle Thornton, Newlands/Auldburn councillor is standing in Southside, against Nicola Sturgeon who has a 9600 majority.

Mr Kerr didn’t specify if he would step down as a councillor should he manage to overcome the Labour and SNP .

He said: “The difference between myself and councillors from other parties seeking election to Holyrood is that I am aspiring to represent the same community that I already have the privilege of serving.

“Indeed, no Glasgow Conservative councillor is contesting a constituency outwith the city’s boundaries. This is in stark contrast to Glasgow’s SNP councillors who are seeking to parachute themselves into seats as far away as Argyll & Bute and Edinburgh Western.

“ I was born and bred in the East End and have never stood for election anywhere else.

“Win or lose in May I will continue to represent Shettleston to the best of my ability.”

Euan Blockley said he will remain as councillor during the campaign but if he was to win the seat he would step down as a councillor.

He said the campaign will give him an opportunity to give the issues he currently deals with, like local funding, a bigger platform at a Holyrood election.

He said: “I don’t think I could do the job part time with a dual role. There is too much going on to do both. It is an individual preference but I wouldn’t want to try and juggle both.

“I am looking to represent the same people and some of them had asked me to stand having dealt with problems for them. It’s the same people in the place where I live and was brought up. I don’t plan on going anywhere.”

Mr Thornton said: “I was born and brought up in the south of Glasgow and am proud of having helped hundreds of constituents, secured investment for my ward and held the failing SNP minority administration to account since my election to the Council in 2017. I’ll continue to work hard for my constituents throughout the election period and beyond.”

Last week the Glasgow Times reported on the SNP councillors looking to contest Holyrood seats.

We intend to report on the Labour and Green councillors looking to do the same in the coming weeks.