Douglas Ross QUITS as Scottish Tory leader just days after announcing plans to stand as MP
Douglas Ross has announced he will stand down as Scottish Tory leader, just days after announcing his plan to stand as an MP at the General Election.
He said he will step down from the post after the July 4 election.
This comes after the former MP for Moray faced criticism over the deselection of David Duguid.
Former UK Government minister David Duguid had wanted to fight the seat, but the Scottish Conservative Party management board ruled ill health meant he should not stand, with Ross confirming last week that he would put himself forward for the constituency.
Ross, who is also an MSP, previously vowed he would step down from Westminster to focus on Holyrood and his role as party leader.
In a statement, the outgoing Scottish Tory leader said: "I have served as an MP, MSP and Leader for over three years now and believed I could continue to do so if re-elected to Westminster, but on reflection, that is not feasible.
"I am committed to fighting and winning the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency. Should I be given the honour of to represent the people and communities of this new seat, they should know being their MP would receive my complete focus and attention."
“I will therefore stand down as leader following the election on July 4, once a successor is elected.
“Should I win the seat, I will also stand down as an MSP to make way for another Scottish Conservative representative in Holyrood.”
SNP leader John Swinney said Ross's position as leader has been "significantly undermined" by the row over Duguid's selection.
Swinney said: “I think his ability to continue as Scottish Conservative leader is significantly undermined by his behaviour.
“Douglas Ross has no credibility whatsoever – he has been telling us all that he wants to be leader of the Scottish Conservative Party so that he can become the first minister of Scotland.
“But he is now taking a decision to try to get back to the House of Commons so he is just exercising constant naked self-interest in the decisions that he takes.”
Duguid denied claims he is “unable to stand” in the election.
Duguid denied claims he is “unable to stand” in the election.
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A Scottish Conservative spokesperson said: “The party management board took an incredibly difficult decision to conclude that David Duguid could not stand at this election for health reasons.
“David has been a fantastic local MP for the last seven years and Douglas worked incredibly well with him as the neighbouring MP in Moray.
“Everyone wishes David well in his continued recovery and looks forward to his return to frontline politics.
“Given the short timeframe to ensure we had a candidate in this key seat, Douglas decided he needed to lead from the front and stop this area being represented by an SNP MP who would only focus on independence, rather than local people’s real priorities.”