Douglas Ross

Douglas Gordon Ross (born 27 January 1983) is a Scottish politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party since 2020 and Leader of the Opposition in Scotland since 2021.

Douglas Gordon Ross was born in Aberdeen on 27 January 1983 to Sandy and Lesley Ross.

He first attended Alves Primary School and the state secondary Forres Academy before going on to study agriculture at the Scottish Agricultural College.

After graduating, he worked on a dairy farm near Forres, Moray, where his father had been working as a cattleman.

He was a member of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in his youth but later became a Conservative voter.

Ross began his political career when he took up a post as a parliamentary researcher at the Scottish Parliament.

He was first elected to The Moray Council in 2007, representing the Fochabers-Lhanbryde ward, and became part of the Independent/Conservative administration.

He resigned from the council administration in December 2009 but continued as a councillor.

He stood unsuccessfully for the Moray UK Parliament constituency in the 2010 and 2015 general elections and for the Scottish Parliament constituency in 2011 and 2016.

In the latter election, he was elected as a regional list MSP as one of the additional members for the Highlands and Islands.

Ross stood as the Conservative candidate for Moray at the 2010 and 2015 general elections, coming second to Angus Robertson but increased his share of the vote by 5.0% in 2015.

He also stood as the Conservative candidate for the Moray Scottish Parliament constituency at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election but finished second to Richard Lochhead.

In 2012, he was re-elected to The Moray Council and again became part of the ruling administration group but was "ousted" from this in 2014, following a debate about school closures.

He was previously MSP for the region from 2016 to 2017.

Born in Aberdeen, Ross was educated at Forres Academy.

After graduating from the Scottish Agricultural College, he worked on a dairy farm.

A member of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in his youth, he switched to the Scottish Conservatives and began his political career as a Scottish Parliament researcher and then a councillor in Moray.

At the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Ross increased his vote by 18.0% but again finished behind Lochhead.

However, he was elected to the Scottish Parliament after being placed first on the Highlands and Islands regional list.

He supported the UK remaining within the European Union in the 2016 membership referendum.

He has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Moray since 2017.

In addition to his seat in Westminster, he serves as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands, having been elected as a regional list MSP in 2021.

Ross was elected to the House of Commons at the 2017 general election, defeating SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson, and was re-elected in 2019 with a reduced majority.

He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland under Prime Minister Boris Johnson for six months.

Ross stood again for the seat of Moray at the 2017 general election, challenging SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson.

He was successful in overturning Robertson's 9,065 majority with 22,637 votes, 47.6% of the votes cast, gaining a 16.5% swing to the Conservatives.

Having gained a seat at Westminster, Ross resigned from his seat in the Scottish Parliament.

In 2017, Ross said during an interview that if he was Prime Minister for a day "without any repercussions", he would "like to see tougher enforcement against Gypsy Travellers".

His remark was criticised, including by Naomi McAuliffe of Amnesty International.

Ross apologised for his use of language.

The Scottish Football Association launched a disciplinary investigation into his remarks, which did not lead to any formal disciplinary action, but warned him to pay attention to his use of language.

SNP and Labour spokespeople criticised Ross for missing a debate on Universal Credit in October 2017, due to his commitments as a football referee.

Shortly afterwards, Ross decided he would no longer accept referee appointments while the UK Parliament is sitting.

Despite backing remaining in the EU prior to the referendum, Ross stated Parliament should complete Brexit to "deliver the will of the British people".

He resigned in May 2020, in protest at Dominic Cummings continuing to serve as Johnson's adviser after breaking lockdown rules during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the resignation of Jackson Carlaw in July 2020, Ross announced his candidature in the August 2020 Scottish Conservative Party leadership election.

Five days later, he was elected leader unopposed.

He ran on a joint ticket with former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson.

Since he served in the House of Commons and was not an MSP, Davidson led the party in the Scottish Parliament until the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

Ross announced that he will not seek re-election as an MP at the next general election, expected in 2024.