Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross loses election race

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has failed in his bid to take Aberdeenshire North and Moray East for the Tories.

Fraserburgh councillor Seamus Logan won the seat for the SNP.

Mr Ross, who is standing down as his party’s leader, announced during the election campaign he would quit as an MSP if he won the seat.

He previously said he would step down as an MP at the next general election, with the Moray constituency broken up under boundary changes anyway.

But Mr Ross changed his mind, and was controversially selected to stand in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, ahead of David Duguid who had been representing much of the area prior to the boundary changes.

Mr Duguid was effectively de-selected while he was ill in hospital.

Mr Ross’ change of heart angered some within the party and he felt he could no longer continue as leader beyond the election.

After the result was announced, Mr Ross left the stage without making any remarks.

He later told BBC News that the Reform vote in the region had played a major part in the SNP victory, but that he took responsibility for the loss.

“I promised to come back and regardless of the result, I have,” he said.

“First of all nationally it’s clearly been a very difficult night – some significant politicians in the Conservative Party not being returned to the House of Commons, a huge Labour majority and now we have to see what Labour are going to do with that majority because their plans are not clear.

“Locally, there were local issues which we’ll no doubt go over, there were national issues, but we also as far as I’m aware have the biggest Reform vote anywhere in Scotland.

“For the last four weeks since I’ve become the candidate I warned that voting Reform would see the SNP win here in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East – they got almost 15% of the vote – and people here now have an SNP MP who will agitate for independence so the Reform vote was clearly the big factor here.”

Mr Ross added that Reform leader Nigel Farage was “offering change with not much behind it”.

Until the election, Mr Ross had been an MP for Moray and a Highlands and Islands MSP, as well as a professional assistant football referee.

His former Moray constituency has been abolished under boundary changes at this year’s election. He had opposed the “carve up” of his seat.

Mr Duguid’s former seat was expanded to include parts of Moray and renamed Aberdeenshire North and Moray East.

Mr Duguid, who had held the Banff and Buchan seat since 2017, had already been adopted by local party members and disputed suggestions he was “seriously ill”.

Mr Ross – who had been branded “three jobs” by opponents – was the only MSP to also serve as an MP in the current Holyrood session before the UK Parliament dissolved.

A Scottish Conservative source told BBC Scotland News previously that Mr Ross had come to the realisation that the party’s MSPs would not “put up” with him serving as both an MP and an MSP after the election.