Goodwill and shawls for pregnant Davidson

Ruth Davidson has said the reaction to her pregnancy shows how far Scotland has come in attitudes towards LGBT+ people.

The Scottish Conservative leader said she had received been inundated with gifts since announcing her pregnancy in April. Ms Davidson is expecting her first child with partner Jen Wilson in October after undergoing IVF.

Speaking at a reception at the Scottish Parliament, Ms Davidson paid tribute to the achievements of Holyrood in furthering LGBT+ rights in areas including gay marriage and the recent passing of a Bill to pardon gay men for historical convictions for homosexuality.

She said: “I’m encouraged that there is genuine cross-party consensus on a whole range of LGBT issues but it does bear repeating just how short this is.

“I’m not 40 yet and it is in my lifetime that you could be prosecuted for being in a loving samesex relationship and it is in my lifetime as a politician, which isn’t that long... that we’ve seen these same couples who could have been prosecuted actually being able to marry their partner.”

She added: “I’m standing here as the leader of a political party, as a pregnant lesbian and my office is full of bibs and baby grows and hand-made shawls that people have been sending in by the bucket-load which is lovely.

“I still get the hate mail, but it’s vastly outweighed by the kindness and goodwill that we see right across the country.”