Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Douglas Ross resigns as Scottish Tory leader

Rishi Sunak and leader of the Scottish Conservative party Douglas Ross (Getty Images)

Just when you thought this election campaign couldn’t get any more tumultuous, Douglas Ross has announced he will resign as Scottish Conservative leader. He had lost the support of his colleagues – particularly those in Holyrood – following his decision to effectively take over a Westminster colleague’s constituency when that MP was seriously ill in hospital. 

In a statement released this morning, Ross said he had come to the conclusion was no longer ‘feasible’ to be both an MP, MSP and party leader (something he had previously stated, but changed his mind on), but that he will continue to hold the role until after the election. He will also resign from Holyrood if he wins the Westminster seat. 

That seat was, until recently, supposed to be where David Duguid was standing. He is in hospital currently but had said he wanted to stand again and had been re-adopted by his local party.

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