Ruth Davidson on pregnancy news: ‘I can’t keep the smile off my face’
● Tory leader and partner ‘excited and daunted’ about starting a family
0 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has announced she is pregnant and expecting her first child with her fiancée, Jen Wilson. Ms Davidson said they were ‘overjoyed’. Deputy leader Jackson Carlaw will hold the fort while Ms Davidson is on maternity leave, which is expected to begin in October
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has announced she is pregnant and expecting her first child with her fiancée, Jen Wilson. The couple will welcome the new arrival in late autumn.
Ms Davidson said she and Ms Wilson were “excited and daunted” by the prospect of starting a family and “overjoyed” at the news.
Messages of congratulations have been sent by political colleagues and opponents, including Prime Minister Theresa May and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Ms Sturgeon tweeted: “Many congratulations to Ruth Davidson and her partner Jen on their lovely news. The baby box is on the way!”
Ms Davidson, 39, said the news does not change her political commitment or her plans to lead the Scottish Conservatives into the 2021 Holyrood elections, saying she is “simply doing what thousands of working women do every year”.
The Scottish Tories’ deputy leader Jackson Carlaw, will hold the fort for a few months while Ms Davidson is on maternity leave, which she will share with Ms Wilson. She is expected to begin leave when Holyrood breaks up for the October recess, returning to work in the spring.
Ms Davidson made the decision to start a family last summer. The couple found out in March that an IVF procedure had been successful.
On how she felt when she was told the good news, she said: “You’re just hoping so hard and you’re trying to not allow yourself to hope in case it’s bad news. I actually can’t keep the smile off my face.”
Ms Davidson, who says she has been affected by some morning sickness and fatigue during the early stages of her pregnancy, said it will be “business as usual” until she goes on maternity leave.
Asked if she saw herself as a role model for other samesex couples with children, she said: “I think it’s important that people realise that this happens and that it’s normal. Hopefully this takes some of the taboo or mystery away from it.
“But I have to say when we were thinking about this, Jen and I were very much focused on our own family. We weren’t necessarily focused on making a political statement.”
“I think it’s important that people realise that this happens and that it’s normal. Hopefully this takes some of the taboo or mystery away from it.”
RUTH DAVIDSON