RUTH Davidson has kept her options open over a possible move to Westminster after the next Scottish Parliament election in 2021, as speculation continues over whether she could become the next UK Tory leader.

Davidson has repeatedly ruled out trying to become a MP in readiness for a possible bid for the UK leadership ahead of the next Holyrood election, but in an interview yesterday did not dismiss such a move after 2021.

Asked if she would rule out becoming a MP before 2021, she said: “That’s what I’ve said consistently all along. Up until 2021 my job is making sure we look like a credible alter- native government Scotland needs.”

The Scottish Tory leader repeated remarks she made at last week’s Conservative Party conference that she was focused on her job at Holyrood where the Tories are in second place, although a YouGov poll at the weekend suggested the Tories could slip back to third place behind Labour next time.

“I’ve had to work really hard to get us from third, and on some measures fourth in the country, up to second to start winning seats and become the main opposition [at Holyrood],” she told ITV’s Peston on Sunday.

“The next step for our party in Scotland is to become a credible alternative government for Scotland.

“We are not there yet, we have a lot of work to do. When the next Scottish election comes in 2021 I want to be leading our party [in Scotland] and I want to be making sure we can be the next government in Scotland.”

Davidson also said she would back Theresa May to lead the party into the next UK election, telling interviewer Robert Peston: “I think she’s the best Prime Minister that we’ve got and she has my full support.”

On another programme Davidson advised May to hold Boris Johnson to his expressions of loyalty after a series of articles written by the Foreign Secretary appeared to undermine the Prime Minister’s authority.

Davidson told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show that Johnson had backed the Prime Minister’s Florence speech on Brexit and May should “hold him to that”.

“He is a big intellect, a big figure in the party and if the Prime Minister believes he is the right person to be Foreign Secretary then she has my full support,” she added.

Yesterday, May vowed she would not “hide from a challenge” amid reports she might reshuffle her Cabinet in an attempt to repair the damage to her authority.

May appears to have seen off an immediate attempt to oust her after her mishap-hit conference speech but is still vulnerable and has come under pressure to bring new faces into her top team in an effort to revitalise her administration.

Allies dismissed suggestions that May would be gone by Christmas and Johnson used a newspaper article to appeal for party unity – but acknowledged there had been a moment while MPs “sniffed the air” before rallying round the embattled PM.

Former prime minister Sir John Major hit out at the “self-absorbed” and “disloyal” behaviour of some Tories who are “driven by their own personal agenda” – comments viewed as a slap down to Johnson.

May has repeatedly faced questions about whether Johnson – a potential leadership rival – is “unsackable” due to her weakened position after the gamble of a General Election backfired, depriving her of a Commons majority.

But when asked what she might do with the Foreign Secretary, May told a newspaper: “It has never been my style to hide from a challenge and I’m not going to start now.

“I’m the PM, and part of my job is to make sure I always have the best people in my Cabinet, to make the most of the wealth of talent available to me in the party.”

May’s ill-starred conference speech was interrupted by a prankster who handed her a fake P45, while a persistent cough left her struggling to be heard and a backdrop began to lose letters as she made her crucial address.

She admitted the speech was an “uncomfortable” time but never considered abandoning the address as: “I am not someone who gives up”.

An attempted coup led by former Tory Party chairman Grant Shapps has fizzled out, but reports claimed four Cabinet ministers had discussed the need to replace the Prime Minister.

One told a newspaper “it feels to me that this is over before Christmas”.

However, Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said May would “absolutely” still be in place at Christmas and dismissed the scale of the opposition to her leadership. Former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine said it would be a high-stakes gamble for May to sack Johnson.

“I think if she wants to assert her authority she would have to sack him, but, of course, it’s a high-risk policy because he will be on the back benches and he won’t go quietly,” he told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend.