2005 Scottish Conservative Party leadership election Goldie was appointed leader on 8 November 2005, the first woman to lead the Scottish Conservative Party. In her maiden speech as leader, she promised to act against "disloyalty and disobedience" in the party and in a reference to Margaret Thatcher she said, "I think you may take it matron's handbag will be in hyper-action. There could be worse precedents to follow". 2005 Scottish Conservative Party leadership election The 2005 Scottish Conservative Party leadership election was an internal party election to elect a new leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, the third largest political party in the devolved
Edward Heath so the waiting press would not realise how brief the visit had been. Heath claimed that he had simply declined her request for advice about how to handle the press, whilst Thatcher claimed that she offered him any Shadow Cabinet position he wanted and asked him to lead the Conservative campaign in the imminent EEC referendum, only to be rudely rebuffed. Heath, for many years, persisted in criticism of the party's new ideological direction. At the time of his defeat, he was still popular with rank and file Conservative members and was warmly applauded at the 1975 Conservative Party Conference.