Scottish Tory leader ‘plotted to quit a year ago and install close ally as successor’

Douglas Ross alleged to have asked party’s general election candidate if he could replace her and also wanted Russell Findlay to take reins

Douglas Ross plotted to quit as Scottish Tory leader more than a year ago and install the current favourite to replace him as his successor, senior party figures have alleged.
Sources told The Telegraph that Mr Ross invited Kathleen Robertson to his home in July 2023 and said he wanted to replace her as the party’s general election candidate for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey.
They said he told Ms Robertson, who is the leader of Moray council, that he would quit immediately as party leader if he could be selected as the candidate as “his heart was in Westminster, not Holyrood”.
If she agreed to stand aside, Mr Ross is said to have promised her that she would be selected as the Tory candidate in the equivalent Holyrood seat for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.
Ms Robertson asked who would replace him as leader and he is alleged to have responded that he wanted Russell Findlay, who is viewed as the favoured candidate of the party establishment in the current leadership contest.
After considering the matter over the weekend after their meeting, Tory insiders said she rejected Mr Ross’s request to stand down as the candidate, much to his displeasure.
The Telegraph contacted Ms Robertson and she confirmed their account of her conversation with Mr Ross last year was accurate.
In a statement, Mr Ross said he asked for the meeting at the request of local members to check she was “committed to standing for the seat”.
Although he did not deny backing Mr Findlay during the talks, he said he would “remain neutral” during this summer’s leadership contest and say nothing about the candidates.
Mr Findlay’s allies said he was unaware of the meeting and argued there was “not a shred of evidence” to support claims of an establishment plot to install him as leader.
They pointed out party members rather than Mr Ross would decide his successor and dismissed the claims as a “smear.” 
Mr Findlay is one of six mooted candidates and is officially launching his campaign on Monday.
But senior Tories said the conversation buttressed allegations that the party establishment was attempting a stitch-up to ensure Mr Findlay, a close ally of Mr Ross, succeeds him.
Several argued that the conversation showed that Mr Ross should stand down immediately as party leader rather than waiting until his successor is appointed at the end of September.
They said the talks also raised fresh questions over the party’s last-minute decision to replace David Duguid with Mr Ross as the Tory candidate in the neighbouring Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat.
Mr Ross was elected Moray MP in the 2017 general election and became a Highlands regional MSP at Holyrood four years later when he assumed the party leadership.
Although he continued to sit in both parliaments, he pledged he would stand down as an MP in this year’s general election so he could focus on trying to lead the Tories to power at Holyrood.
His Moray seat at Westminster was abolished at the election following boundary changes, with 70 per cent of it being swallowed up by the new Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey constituency.
Ms Robertson was selected as the Tory candidate for the new seat in April last year but the party delayed announcing the decision at her request, so her children could focus on sitting their exams.
It was well known within the local party that this was her reason for the delay but Mr Ross invited her for the talks a few days before her selection was made public.
Sources said she only told a small number of friends about his request that she stand down. 
At the turn of the year, she informed Scottish Tory chairman Craig Hoy and director James Tweedie, who were both said to be deeply unhappy.
But she started telling a wider group of Tory colleagues when the party announced during the election campaign that Mr Ross was to replace Mr Duguid as the candidate for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East.
Mr Duguid, the incumbent MP, had been in hospital for two months with a serious spinal condition but he vehemently denied the party’s claim that he was too sick to stand.
The controversial decision was taken by the Scottish Tory management board, which is led by Mr Hoy. 
Ms Robertson started telling others about her experience amid concern about the party’s candidate selection process.
Despite the Scottish Tories insisting that Mr Ross was not behind the move, the furore prompted him to announce during that election campaign that he would stand down as leader.
Ms Robertson and Mr Ross failed in their attempts to be elected as MPs last month, with the SNP winning both seats.
However, accounts of their conversation have continued to spread within Tory circles, with several MSPs becoming aware of them in recent weeks.
A Tory source said: “I think his offer to her indicates that even over a year ago there were plans to install Russell Findlay as Scottish party leader.
“He was telling MSPs at the time it was his intention to leave Westminster and he wanted to be first minister. A few never believed that and I think Douglas should stand down immediately as leader.”
Referring to the decision to replace Mr Duguid, they said: “It’s all connected. I think the conversation shows that Douglas Ross wanted somehow to get a seat. He saw his chance and took it in a fairly brutal fashion.”
A spokesman for Mr Findlay said: “Russell had no knowledge whatsoever of any alleged discussions of this nature.
“He is focused on campaigning positively to build a common-sense Conservative movement based on aspiration and opportunity.”
Mr Ross said: “Several weeks had passed since Kathleen had become the candidate but she had still not publicly announced this, so at the request of some local members I met with Kathleen to see if she was still committed to standing for the seat.
“She confirmed that she was and I then campaigned with her in the hope that she would win the new constituency.
“Throughout the leadership election, I have said absolutely nothing about the candidates or the contest, other than I will remain as leader until my successor is appointed. My decision to remain neutral throughout the contest will not change.”
A Scottish Conservative spokesman said: “This was a private conversation between Douglas and Kathleen, and not a party matter.”