One of the candidates standing to replace Douglas Ross as leader of the Scottish Conservatives has resigned as the party’s deputy because of “deeply troubling” allegations about Ross’s conduct over the leadership contest. The Telegraph on Thursday reported that senior party figures alleged Ross had planned to quit as leader a year ago and install as his successor the current favourite to replace him, Russell Findlay. In her resignation letter, Meghan Gallacher said she had been “completely unaware” of any such discussions and warned that the allegations posed a “potential risk to the reputation of our party and the leadership contest going forward”. The Telegraph reported that Ross met the Westminster election candidate Kathleen Robertson, the leader of Moray council, in July 2023 and raised the prospect of him replacing her in the 2024 general election, saying he would stand down as leader immediately as “his heart was in Westminster, not Holyrood”. Robertson turned down his request. Earlier on Friday, four other leadership candidates issued a joint statement expressing their “deep concern” about the “disturbing claims about the conduct of Douglas Ross” and questioning their impact on the “transparency and fairness” of the contest. Murdo Fraser, Jamie Greene, Liam Kerr and Brian Whittle said: “These allegations raise serious questions for the party which, in our opinion, require to be answered before the current leadership contest proceeds further.”
During the general election campaign, Ross announced his surprise resignation amid growing internal pressure over his multiple roles in the party. He had faced sustained criticism for his decision to serve as an MP at Westminster and as an MSP at Holyrood in north-east constituencies while retaining his part-time role as a match official for the Scottish FA, and has been the target of regular jibes from political opponents about his “three jobs”. The discontent within his own party came to a head in June, when Ross announced that he planned to stand again for Westminster in a key Scottish National party target seat, putting himself forward after the Conservatives blocked the anticipated candidate, who was recovering from a spinal injury. But Ross was beaten in the Westminster election by the SNP and will now sit as a backbench MSP. He told the Telegraph that he would remain neutral in the leadership contest, in which nominations remain open until 22 August. Findlay, the Scottish Tories’ justice spokesperson and a former journalist who has been consistently regarded as the party’s preferred candidate, will officially launch his campaign on Monday. Findlay said on Friday: “I had no knowledge of any conversations that have been reported. I am standing to change our party and recent developments underline why change is so necessary. I am focused on running a positive campaign.”