Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson is ‘on verge of quitting’, senior sources say
Ruth Davidson has quit her role as leader of the Scottish Conservatives. (Ken Jack/Getty)
Scottish Conservative Party leader Ruth Davidson is “on the verge of quitting”, according to reports.
Davidson has been leader of the party since November 2011 and, according to The Scottish Sun, a “senior Tory source” said that she was struggling with being at odds with new prime minister Boris Johnson, as well as struggling to balance being a new parent with her high-profile job.
The source said: “Ruth’s been talking to senior party figures in the Conservatives for the last few weeks, both in Scotland and down south.
“She has been under huge pressure as a new mum. Nobody really fully understands how your life is going to change as a parent until it happens. Ruth is no different in this respect.
“She’s tried to juggle motherhood with being the very high-profile leader of the opposition in Scotland, and it’s taken its toll.
“All of this has been made more difficult with the current political climate, where she’s found herself at increasing odds with the new leadership in London.
“The events unfolding at Westminster have not helped.”
One source said PM Boris John “goes against so much of what she’s fought for”.
Another source told The Scottish Sun: “There are two reasons she has been considering going – family and Boris.
“Ruth and Jen are under huge strain. And Ruth is in a real hole with Boris – she can’t defend him, it’s toxic and goes against so much of what she’s fought for.”
A Scottish Conservative source told the newspaper Wednesday, August 28: “’Ruth will make her position clear in due course. There will be no further comment this evening.”
Davidson and her partner Jen Wilson announced that they had welcomed a baby boy on October 26, 2018.
Ruth Davidson’s leadership has marked a transformative period for the Scottish Conservative Party, which has historically opposed LGBT+ rights and same-sex parenting.
