Davidson flags interest in switching to Westminster
Ruth Davidson has given the clearest signal yet that she could make the switch from Holyrood to Westminster.
The Scottish Conservative leader had previously insisted she had no plans to become an MP, but has now admitted that if the Tories fail to win the 2021 Scottish Parliament election she will consider her options.
She has also declared Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn would be “eminently beatable” in the next UK general election in 2022.
Ms Davidson insisted she would only run for a Scottish seat and would not opt to stand in a safe Conservative seat in the south. She went on to rule out taking on the job of Conservative Party
chair, insisting that “leading the party in Scotland is a bigger job than being Conservative party chairman”, in an interview with The Spectator magazine.
But when asked what could happen if the Tories came third in the 2021 Scottish elections, she said: “I’ve been leader of the party now for six years. My two predecessors lasted six-and-a-half years each.” By the time of the next Holyrood elections, Ms Davidson would have been in charge of the party for “significantly longer”. She said: “Then we can start other conversations.”
Asked if those conversations would include discussions about her coming to Westminster, she said: “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.” Pressed further on if she would only stand for a Scottish seat, Ms Davidson said: “Yes.”
Such a prospect would hinge on election results in 2021. Ms Davidson has publicly set her sights on ousting Nicola Sturgeon and becoming Scotland’s next first minister.
Her comments come amid continuing speculation that she could be a future leader of the UK Conservatives after her success in transforming the fortunes of the party north of the Border. She is set to raise her profile further by appearing on a celebrity episode of The Great British Bake Off airing later this month.
Under her leadership, the Conservatives have become the second largest party at Holyrood, returning a record 31 MSPS in Edinburgh in 2015 and removing Labour as the main party of opposition.
And while the Conservatives in England lost seats in the June 2016 general election, the Scottish Conservative tally of MPS went from one to 13.
In airing her views on Mr Corybn’s prospects, Ms Davidson said that in this year’s election voters viewed the veteran left-winger as a “safe receptacle because everybody had written off his chances”, but said that would not be the case next time round.
A Scottish Conservative spokesman said: “Ruth’s only focus is on winning the 2021 Scottish elections.”