DOUGLAS Ross sent a message that he does not want to be at Holyrood, a candidate in the race to replace him as Scottish Tory leader has said.
Brian Whittle, who is one of six declared MSPs vying to take over as Scottish group leader, said he and other Scottish Tory colleagues were “hurt” by the Ross’s decision to stand for Westminster, which ultimately forced him into resigning in the middle of the General Election campaign.
Ross had binned a previous pledge to stand down from Westminster when he controversially announced his candidacy in the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat, replacing former MP David Duguid, who had been selected by local members.
Ross said he would step down as an MSP if he became an MP, but will continue to sit at Holyrood after a humiliating loss to the SNP's Seamus Logan.
Speaking on the Ponsonby and Massie Podcast, Whittle agreed that Ross’s decision cost the party the seat in what was the SNP’s only gain of the election.
Whittle further said that his Scottish Tory colleagues felt that Ross did not want to be in Holyrood.
He said: “He earned the right to make decisions and he earned the right to make mistakes and that was one of several in a row in a very short period of time.
“I think it was a decision, that for me, said, ‘I want to be in Westminster. I don’t want to be in Holyrood’.
“That hurt because the whole point was we were supporting him being an MP and an MSP on the understanding that he was giving up being an MP to be an MSP and to lead the party properly at Holyrood.
“So, all that time that we supported him in doing that, I find that’s actually maybe not what he wanted to do. That’s a difficult pill to swallow.
“It’s, quite frankly, just a bit disrespectful to the rest of us.”
Whittle also hinted that he is no longer close with Ross following the decision, stating: “Douglas came into Holyrood with me and I classed him as a friend at the time, I thought he was a very good operator.”
But he added that Ross “retreated into his bunker” and operated with “too few people” making decisions.
Alongside Whittle, Meghan Gallacher, Russell Findlay, Jamie Greene, Liam Kerr, and Murdo Fraser have announced their intention to stand to become Scottish Tory leader.
Nominations opened on Thursday and candidates are required to have the backing of 100 party members by noon on August 22.
Hustings will then take place across the country, with ballots closing on September 26 and the winner declared the following day.
But Whittle also told the podcast hosts that if he did not win, he did not think he would be able to vote for Findlay, describing his colleague as the “establishment” choice.
He said: “I think there has to be real, real change, so I would struggle to vote for Russell because I don’t believe the change is there that’s required.”
He went on to say: “I have a lot of time for Russell Findlay, I think he has done an incredible job in the short period of time that he has been in Parliament. I think he has led his portfolio really well.
“But it doesn’t make him, in my view, the best person to be leader, but he has been incredibly effective.
“I think without question he would be the establishment’s choice.”
“The difference, this time around, is that we’ve been prepared to stand up and go, ‘no, we’re not accepting that.’”
