Douglas Ross to stand down as leader of Scottish Conservatives

Douglas Ross has announced he will be standing down as leader of the Scottish Conservatives after the General Election.

In a statement, he said he is "committed to fighting and winning" the seat in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East on July 4.

If elected as an MP, Douglas Ross will also stand down as an MSP.

In a statement, he said: “I have served as MP, MSP and Leader for over three years now and believed I could continue to do so if re-elected to Westminster, but on reflection, that is not feasible.

“I am committed to fighting and winning the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency. Should I be given the honour to represent the people and communities of this new seat, they should know being their MP would receive my complete focus and attention.

“I will therefore stand down as Leader following the election on July 4th, once a successor is elected. Should I win the seat, I will also stand down as an MSP to make way for another Scottish Conservative representative in Holyrood.

“My party has a chance to beat the SNP in key seats up and down Scotland, including in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East. We must now come together and fully focus on doing exactly that.”

The announcement follows a row over his decision to stand in the constituency.

Former UK Government minister David Duguid had wanted to stand, however he took to social media last week to reveal the Scottish Conservatives had told him due to ill health he would not be the chosen candidate.

He had previously spent several weeks in intensive care and remains recovering in hospital.

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