Scottish Conservatives’ Jackson Carlaw QUITS as leader

Ruth Davidson is set to return to the helm of the Scottish Conservatives after Jackson Carlaw was forced out as party leader after just six months.

In a statement Mr Carlaw, 61, said he made the ‘painful decision’ after realising he was not the best person to lead the party in the run-up to next year’s Holyrood election.

But it is believed he was pressured into quitting by senior figures in the party who are backing Moray MP Douglas Ross, a former Scotland Office minister, to replace him in the long-term.

The 37-year-old left his government position in May this year in response to No10 chief advisor Dominic Cummings’s 260-mile drive to Durham during the lockdown.

Ms Davidson, 41, who stood down from the role last August after eight years, will stand in for him at first minister’s questions until he is elected as an MSP, according to The Herald.

However, the former leader still intends to quit the Scottish parliament in March, and could be in line for a peerage following several successful election campaigns against the SNP. 

Mr Ross, the MP for Moray, will stand on the Highlands and Islands regional list for Holyrood if he becomes leader.

Last night Ms Davidson was making phone calls to lobby for Mr Ross, according to The Times. His campaign will be run by John Lamont, Ms Davidson’s former chief whip at Holyrood who is now the MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk.

‘Jackson Carlaw has served @ScotTories at almost every level for over 40 years,’ Ms Davidson tweeted.

‘I can’t thank him enough for the eight years we served together as my deputy and you see the class of the man in his resignation this evening.’ 

Mr Carlaw had succeeded Ms Davidson as party leader in February, having served as acting leader following her resignation. 

The politician said stepping down now gives his successor time to prepare for the next Scottish Parliament election, in which the SNP will be aiming for a record fourth victory.

This result would only serve to increase calls for a second independence referendum.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson today said Mr Carlaw had been a ‘tremendous servant’ to the Scottish Conservative Party for more than four decades.  

He added: ‘As an activist, deputy chairman, deputy leader and leader, he has given his all and deserves our thanks for his efforts.

‘It is a mark of his commitment to the cause that he chooses to stand aside at this time and I offer my best wishes to him, Wynne and the family.’     

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also tweeted her best wishes, saying: ‘Leadership is a tough business and I’m sure his decision wasn’t easy.’

Mr Carlaw’s resignation comes almost exactly a year after Ms Davidson quit as Scottish Tory leader.

The hunt to find her successor was delayed by December’s general election, with Mr Carlaw, who had been her deputy, serving as interim leader before being elected into the job in February.

In the ballot, he defeated the right-wing MSP Michelle Ballantyne by 4,917 votes to 1,581.

But in December’s general election, the Tories lost seats in Scotland, with the number of Conservative MPs from north of the border going from 13 to six.

Scotland Office minister Douglas Ross is reportedly being urged to stand for the leadership after he quit his ministerial post over Dominic Cummings’ lockdown trip to Durham, the BBC said. 

It has also been suggested that Ms Davidson could stand in for Mr Ross at First Minister’s Questions until the Scottish Parliament election in May.     

Announcing the shock move, Mr Carlaw said the summer had given him the ‘chance to think hard’ about the position.

He said: ‘Nothing is more important to me than making the case for Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom.

‘I believe the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party is the most important voice in Scotland for setting out that positive argument. I am clear that nothing must get in the way of doing so.

‘In the last few weeks, I have reached a simple if painful conclusion – that I am not, in the present circumstances, the person best placed to lead that case over these next vital months in Scottish politics prior to the Holyrood elections.’

He added: ‘Given the importance I attach to the job, I’ve therefore decided to stand down with immediate effect.’

Mr Carlaw said it had not been an ‘easy call’, but added: ‘I have spent a lifetime in politics holding to the maxim that party and country comes first.

‘I believe I am doing my duty by holding to that view now.

‘I simply believe that a new leader will be able, as we recover from the Covid emergency, to make the case for the Scottish Conservatives and the union better than me. That is all that matters.’

He said: ‘Managing the transition from Ruth Davidson’s leadership to a refreshed party has been a challenging task but I feel confident that I leave the role with the party in good heart and, crucially, with time to elect a new leader so he or she can prepare for the elections next year.

‘The Scottish Conservatives will fight those elections as we have always done – as the one party that will unequivocally speak up for all those Scots who do not want to go back to more division, but instead want our country to move on, as part of the United Kingdom, able to rise to the challenges of the future.

‘I will fight that cause hard for these next few vital months as a loyal member of my party.’