Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has been accused of giving himself “job insurance” after stating he will stay on as an MSP if he fails to win the upcoming UK general election. Ross recently announced his intention to stand down as leader following the election, but has now decided to only resign his Highlands and Islands Holyrood seat if he is elected as MP for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East. The seat was recently held by David Duguid, who was deselected by the party management board, leading Ross to replace him as candidate. Ross has defended his decision, denying that he feels Holyrood is less important than Westminster and stating that he has listened to the concerns of colleagues.
Duguid rejected suggestions that he is seriously ill and stated that he had already been adopted as a candidate by local members before he was deselected. Ross has maintained that it isn’t feasible for him to serve in two parliaments, while also holding the added responsibilities of being party leader and a Scottish football assistant referee. He stated that he had discussed his decision with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and denied any suggestion that he is ensuring a fall back for himself, should he fail to win the election.
The Scottish Conservative leader has also found himself under pressure over allegations surrounding his expenses claims. The Sunday Mail reports that Ross’s advisers had queried travel expense claims, with suggestions they were related to his high-level football refereeing work. The expense claims made included 28 requests for flights between London and Glasgow or Edinburgh. MPs are only permitted to claim travel expenses from their home airport. Moray is void of an airport, but according to reports, Ross could have claimed the expenses relating to flights to Aberdeen or Inverness. Ross has defended the expenses claims, which were approved by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), stating that he welcomes further scrutiny of the expenses.
Ross has chosen to stand in the upcoming UK election after previously deciding to step down. This change of plans put him directly in the firing line of political attack. His hope is that he can reduce the challenge of balancing football refereeing, a Holyrood seat, losing the Scottish Conservatives leadership, and potentially winning a seat at the UK Parliament. If he won the election, he said he will resign from his role as Holyrood Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) but will overstay on his current role only if he’s unsuccessful. The development of the situation will be closely monitored by the press
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More