After facing criticism for announcing his bid to replace an ailing colleague as the Conservative Party’s candidate in Aberdeenshire North and Moray West, Douglas Ross has announced he will be resigning as the leader of the Scottish Conservatives. Following his announcement, Ross will continue in his position until after the election and will be stepping down from his MSP role if he is re-elected to Westminster. He initially thought he could continue to serve as an MSP and MP as well as the party leader but has now realized it’s not feasible to do so.
The move comes after Ross reportedly received backlash over replacing a colleague who was in hospital and had been effectively de-selected. A source close to the party revealed that the Scottish Tory MSPs would not “put up” with him serving as both an MP and an MSP. Ross is the only MSP to have served as an MP in the current Holyrood session before the UK Parliament dissolved. He has since committed to fighting and winning the seat, vowing to leave his position as leader following the election on 4 July. A successor is expected to be elected before Ross’s resignation.
Ross had previously come under pressure at the weekend due to concerns raised about 28 parliamentary travel claims that may have been associated with his work as a football linesman. However, he had made it clear that the expenses claims were already approved by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), and he would have “no issue” with the expenses being examined a second time. This may have also contributed to the controversies.
SNP minister Angus Robertson has called on Ross to resign from his candidacy for the Westminster seat, stating that Ross was “totally devoid of honour”. Meanwhile, Alba leader Alex Salmond described Ross as a “rat deserting a sinking ship while simultaneously trying to clamber aboard a gravy train”, adding to the mounting criticisms of the former leader
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