Ruth Davidson signals she could move to Westminster

RUTH DAVIDSON has given the clearest signal yet that she could stand for a Westminster seat in 2022 if she fails to win the next Holyrood election.

The Scottish Conservative leader has repeatedly been touted as a possible replacement for Theresa May, and was backed by Lord Heseltine as someone who had “begun to qualify” for the job.

She previously insisted she had no plans to become an MP, but has admitted in a new interview that if the Tories fail to win the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, she will consider her options.

Ms Davidson also said she believed Jeremy Corbyn would be “eminently beatable” in the next election.

She told The Spectator that she had served as the Scottish leader for six years and that her two predecessors lasted for around six and a half years each. Ms Davidson added that after that “we can start other conversations”, and when asked if that meant coming to Westminster, she replied: “I haven’t ruled it out. If devolution is going to work, then actually there has to be the ability to move between chambers and parliaments.”

Her popularity was clear at the party conference two months ago, following a spectacular result in the general election in June when the Scottish Tories won 13 seats – 12 more than the last time round – including Alex Salmond’s constituency.

They are also the second party at Holyrood, and Ms Davidson aims to become First Minister after the 2021 vote.

Asked what went wrong with the Tories in England in the general election, she appeared to have a dig at Mrs May’s “strong and stable” mantra, saying: “I’ve got a bit of experience in campaigning. Part of the issue is a belief that you can say the same thing every day for seven weeks and the media will just report that… there was a bit of a backlash there.”