The Scottish Tories are to throw open the ranking of their Holyrood list candidates to 300,000 members of the public.

In a revolutionary move, the party will ask people who have identified themselves as Tory supporters to rank regional candidates for the Scottish election in 2016. Currently, only local party members take part.

However in future both members and looser supporters will be sent a postal vote in the regional rankings, a change designed to boost interest in the party and lead to the selection of more voter-friendly MSPs.

The effect could be profound, as twelve of the 15 current Tory MSPs are list members.

The selection of candidates for constituencies will continue to be made by party members only. Announcing the change at the ­Scottish Tory convention in Dunblane, deputy leader Jackson Carlaw MSP said: "We hope this will lead to the best MSPs being elected, while increasing our representation in the Scottish Parliament."