Why has Douglas Ross resigned as Scottish Tory leader?

Coffee House Shots

The Spectator

News, Politics, Government, Daily News

4.4 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2024

⏱️ 11 minutes

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Summary

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. Why now?

Michael Simmons speaks to Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls.

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Transcript

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0:18.0	Hello and I'm
0:23.0	welcome to Coffey House Scots. I'm Michael Simmons and I'm joined by Katie Balls
0:28.1	and Isabel Hardman. Now the Smourning, the Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, also of football refereeing
0:35.6	fame, has announced that he is going to stand down as leader after the election.
0:42.1	Isabelle, what's brought this on? I mean I think this is the most
0:45.1	Douglas Ross thing that Douglas Ross has ever done which is to announce he's standing
0:49.5	down but not yet during an election campaign when his national party leader is having a really bad time.
0:58.8	And so he announced this morning that after the election he's going to stand down as Scottish Conservative
1:05.0	leader if he wins his Westminster seat that he's standing for that he's taken off a very sick colleague. He will also resign as an MSP.
1:16.5	And this follows, as I mentioned, a row about David Dugood, who was going to be standing, was an MP, was going to be standing in the newly created
1:27.0	seat of Abadysa North and Murray West, but was unwell and having treatment in hospital. He had been re adopted by his local
1:36.5	party, said he wanted to stand again. Then the Conservative Party Board decided that
1:41.8	he wasn't well enough and was according to some reports
1:45.5	putting about suggestions that he was too unwell to speak which was
1:48.2	contradicted by reporters phoning David Dugged who then then spoke to them. So that was a bit unfortunate.
1:55.6	Douglas Ross then announced, having previously announced that he was going to be
2:00.3	stepping down at the selection, he was going to be stepping in to this
	...

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