2024 Scottish Conservatives leadership election

The 2024 Scottish Conservatives leadership election will take place in 2024 after Douglas Ross announced his resignation on 10 June.

Background
The MSP Douglas Ross was elected leader of the Scottish Conservatives unopposed in August 2020 after his predecessor Jackson Carlaw resigned. In the 2021 Scottish Parliament election the Conservatives remained the second largest party with the same number of MSPs as at the previous election. Ross was elected as an MSP, having already been an MP. He kept both jobs, donating his MSP salary to charity.

The Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak called the 2024 United Kingdom general election to be held on 4 July. Ross initially said that he would stand down as an MP. David Duguid, a former minister who was recovering from spinal surgery, had been expected to run for re-election as the Conservative candidate for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East. On 5 June, he was deselected by the party "on health grounds". The next day, Ross was announced as the candidate. He initially said he would continue as MP, MSP and party leader. Ross said that the Scottish Conservatives management board had made the decision to replace him. The chair of the Scottish Conservatives said that Ross, who sits on the board, had not been part of discussions about Duguid. Duguid said he had wanted to stand, that no members of the board had visited him in hospital, and that the board was not accurately describing his condition.

Ross was separately criticised for expense claims he had made for flights and parking allegedly part of his additional job as a football assistant referee.

On 10 June, Ross announced that he would resign as leader on the day of the general election. He also said that if he became an MP he would resign as an MSP. He later said that he decided to resign so that the leader of the Conservatives would be an MSP. On 4 July, Ross failed to win election to Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, losing to the SNP candidate Seamus Logan.

Possible Candidates
The following Conservative politicians have been discussed as potential candidates by the media:


 * Russell Findlay, MSP for West Scotland since 2021
 * Murdo Fraser, shadow covid recovery secretary, former deputy leader and MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife since 2001
 * Meghan Gallacher, deputy leader since 2022 and MSP for Central Scotland since 2021
 * Maurice Golden, MSP for West Scotland from 2017 to 2021 and North East Scotland since 2021
 * Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland since 2016
 * Sandesh Gulhane, shadow health secretary, MSP for Glasgow since 2021
 * Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland since 2021
 * Liam Kerr, shadow energy secretary, MSP for North East Scotland since 2016
 * Stephen Kerr, shadow education secretary, MSP for Central Scotland since 2021