The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Leader broke ‘all sorts of barriers’
Conservative Party chiefs say there is no rush to select Ruth Davidson’s replacement, with the leadership race likely to start following the October conference.
Ms Davidson will not be involved in the selection process, other than as a party member.
The former leader will remain in her Edinburgh Central seat until at least the next Holyrood election, in 2021.
Her resignation was immediate, and deputy leader Jackson Carlaw will take her place at First Minister’s Questions.
A party spokesman dismissed any rumour Ms Davidson was stepping down to become an MP and said she would fully back a fight against a second referendum on Scottish independence.
So far no one has put themselves forward in contention for party leader.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “I wish Ruth well for the future. I know well the toll political leadership can take on family life, and no one will grudge her more time with her young son.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: “Often I found her fun to work with where we agreed and a formidable opponent when we didn’t. She can leave the stage in the knowledge that she played her part and played it well.”
Kirstene Hair, MP for Angus, said: “She has broken down all sorts of barriers and shown a generation of young Scottish women that a role in public life is open to them.”
Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser, who was beaten by Ms Davidson to the leadership post in 2011, said: “She took the party to new heights which were considered impossible a few years ago and helped us win the independence referendum.”