Douglas Ross has announced he will stand down as leader of the Scottish Conservatives on 4 July amid growing internal pressure over his multiple roles in the party and fresh allegations about improper expenses claims.
In the surprise statement on Monday morning, Ross also said he would quit as an MSP at Holyrood should he win the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency at the Westminster election.
He has faced sustained criticism for his decision to serve as an MP at Westminster and as an MSP at Holyrood in north-east constituencies while retaining his part-time role as a match official for the Scottish FA, with regular jibes from political opponents about his “three jobs”.
Growing discontent within his own party came to a head last week when Ross announced he planned to stand again for Westminster in a key Scottish National party target seat, putting himself forward after the party blocked the anticipated candidate who is recovering from a spinal injury.
Ross said he had decided to “to lead from the front” after the former Scotland office minister David Duguid, who had been expected to stand in that seat, developed “serious health issues”.
Duguid insisted he was fit enough to contest the election, responding that he was “very saddened” by the decision of the party’s management board, which he said had taken the decision without visiting him “or receiving any professional medical prognosis”.
The board said it had a duty of care to protect the health of its candidates. Ross denied this was “an insurance option” for his future career.
The decision on Duguid, as well as Ross’s move to immediately replace him, was met with fury by local party members and disbelief from MSP colleagues, while the Holyrood opposition dismissed it as “tawdry” and “a betrayal”.
Holyrood colleagues were understood to be vexed not only at the way Duguid had apparently been shunted aside but by Ross’s U-turn, after he had previously committed to focusing on his Holyrood duties ahead of the next Scottish parliament elections.
In his statement on Monday morning, Ross said: “I have served as 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.”
He added: “My party has a chance to beat the SNP in key seats up and down Scotland, including in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East. We must now come together and fully focus on doing exactly that.”
Meanwhile, the SNP is calling for Ross to make a personal statement to Holyrood about his expenses after the Sunday Mail reported that a Tory whistleblower had claimed that Ross had submitted 28 parliamentary expense claims relating to his football refereeing work.
Ross said the expenses were approved by the independent parliamentary body Ipsa and he would have “no issue” with the expenses being examined for a second time.
The SNP depute leader, Keith Brown, said Ross must not escape scrutiny at Holyrood. “Douglas Ross’s shock resignation this morning, after revelations about his parliamentary expenses, leaves a number of questions unanswered,” Brown said.
As Monday progressed, the usually obligatory thanks and tributes on social media from Scottish colleagues were noticeably slow to emerge, while Rishi Sunak was asked if this was evidence of more chaos in the Conservative party.
Sunak rejected this, telling reporters: “You can read Douglas’s statement about his reasons and I respect his decision. It’s been a pleasure to work with him over the time that I’ve been prime minister.”
It is understood that Ross made the calculation that it was better to endure a week of poor headlines at this stage of the campaign than face continuing questions about his treatment of Duguid and expenses claims for the duration.
But Ross must continue his media duties as leader and will face political rivals in the BBC Scotland leaders’ debate on Tuesday night.
Scottish Labour’s deputy leader, Jackie Baillie, said she wished Ross the best of luck in the future but added: “Voters know that this rotten Tory government has nothing to offer Scotland – it’s no wonder Douglas Ross has given up on trying to resuscitate the Scottish Tories’ flailing campaign.”
The SNP candidate for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, Seamus Logan, called on Ross to resign as an MSP immediately. He said: “It’s clear he’s been forced out as Scottish Tory leader after his shameful behaviour over David Duguid and his growing expenses scandal. Voters deserve a dedicated MSP, not one who is hedging his bets in case he loses the election.”
