The Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross, has announced he plans to stand again for Westminster in a key Scottish National party target seat, after the party blocked the anticipated candidate who is recovering from a serious illness.
Reversing repeated commitments to focus on his duties at Holyrood, 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 for the new seat of Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, developed “serious health issues”.
Duguid, who is undergoing rehabilitation in the spinal injury unit at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth university hospital, said on Wednesday he had been barred from standing by the party because of his ill health.
The former MP for Banff and Buchan, whose constituency was taken in to the new seat for which Ross has put himself forward, revealed on social media that he had not been selected to stand, despite being adopted by his local party.
Ross, who until the general election had served as MP for Moray and an MSP for the Highlands and Islands, confirmed his decision at a hastily arranged press conference in Edinburgh on Thursday morning.
Alongside his dual roles in two parliaments, Ross also works as a part-time match official for the Scottish FA, prompting regular jibes about his “three jobs” from political opponents. He donates his MSP salary to charity.
Speaking on Thursday morning, Ross said: “Unfortunately, with real regret, the party management board concluded that David could not proceed as our candidate for the new seat of Aberdeenshire North and Moray East. I want to personally thank him for the significant role he has played and there will always be a place for him in the Scottish Conservatives.”
Saying that the new seat included part of his old Moray constituency, which he had held since his surprise ousting of the SNP veteran Angus Robertson in 2017, Ross added: “I know how to beat the SNP and I know how important it is to local voters that we do so.
“I know how damaging it would be for constituents, including many I’ve already represented as MP for Moray, to have an SNP MP who only focuses on independence at the expense of all the issues that really matter to local people.”
Duguid’s recent posts on X made it clear that he expected to be sufficiently recovered to campaign before 4 July.
Explaining to followers in late May that he had been treated for an illness affecting his spine, and had been transferred to Glasgow to continue his rehabilitation, he described the physiotherapy he was undergoing. He reassured constituents that, if re-elected, he would “serve you tirelessly and always to the best of my ability”.
The tone changed on Wednesday evening when he posted: “Last week I informed you of my rehabilitation progress and how I was looking forward to campaigning (albeit without knocking on doors) for the upcoming election.
“I am pleased to say that my recovery programme is well on schedule … Notwithstanding this, and despite my having been adopted by our local members, the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party has informed me tonight that they have decided not to put me forward as their chosen candidate.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Conservatives said its management board had met Duguid last week and had a “duty of care” to protect the health of their candidates.
“We admire David’s tenacity, toughness and wanting to stand, but the party management board felt that for his recovery it wouldn’t be the best course for him to stand.
“We’re pleased that David’s recovery is going well, we hope that continues, he’s got our support throughout this process. We really hope the recovery continues and that one day he can stand for us again, but the party management board felt that in the interim his recovery would be put at risk if he stood in this election.”
The SNP candidate for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, Seamus Logan, said Duguid’s treatment by the Scottish Conservatives would “outrage many local families” and wished him a swift and full recovery.
“I give a commitment to people across Aberdeenshire North and Moray East that, if I’m elected on 4 July, I will be a champion for everyone who lives here – and I will always put the interests of our constituency first.”
Scottish Labour’s deputy, Jackie Baillie, said: “Douglas Ross is treating his constituents with contempt by refusing to give up one of his three jobs, and his shoddy treatment of his own colleague shows how morally bankrupt the Tories are.”
