STV News and other news outlets are reporting that Central Edinburgh MSP Ruth Davidson is stepping down as leader of the Scottish Conservatives.
There has been no formal announcement from either Ms Davidson herself or indeed her party.
Davidson has been leader for eight of those years, and she is expected to make a formal announcement tomorrow.
She demanded that newly elected Prime Minister Boris Johnson retained David Mundell as Secretary of State for Scotland, but he disregarded her advice and appointed Alister Jack to the role instead.
Ian Murray, Labour MP and Best for Britain supporter, said: “Ruth Davidson is a formidable politician and her departure will be deeply felt by her party.
“She campaigned tirelessly for a Remain vote in the EU referendum, but the Tories under Boris Johnson have become a hard Brexit party, so it is not surprising that it has come to this.
“The Prime Minister and his allies are willing to crash the UK out of the EU without a deal, and they are no longer listening to voices of reason.
“Boris Johnson’s plan for a hard Brexit is a threat to the Union, and sensible Tories know this.”
Boris Johnson got royal approval from Her Majesty the Queen today on his plan to suspend or prorogue parliament from early September. The Queen’s Speech will then follow on 14 October amid a furore involving everyone including the House of Commons Speaker John Bercow who has called it a ‘constitutional outrage’.
When Ms Davidson was on maternity leave at the end of last year it fell to her deputy Jackson Carlaw to take First Minister’s Questions and her other duties.
We last saw her at the Edinburgh International Book Festival when she would not talk about politics, but her book instead.
This story is unfolding as we write…..
Earlier today the First Minister tweeted this :
Given her past statements opposing a no deal Brexit, it would be good to have confirmation from Ruth Davidson today that all Scots Tory MPs will back the cross party effort next week to stop it – and that they will also oppose Boris Johnson’s attempt to shut down Parliament.
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) August 28, 2019
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
