Ruth Davidson eyes up Westminster seat in return to politics hint

Just two weeks after she confirmed that she would not stand for re-election to the Scottish Parliament in 2021, the former party chief told The Telegraph that her time in politics might “come again” when the Tories are in opposition.

Davidson, who represents Edinburgh Central in Holyrood, told the paper: “I’ve probably got more experience than anyone in the party on how to lead from opposition.”

She quit as Scottish Tory leader in August citing conflicts over Brexit and wishing to have more time with her family, and young son Finn.

READ MORE: Scottish Independence supporters take anti-Tory message to London

Davidson told the paper’s Stella magazine: “It may well be that my time in politics doesn’t come again until we’re in opposition.

“I’ve probably got more experience than anyone in the party on how to lead from opposition.”

She told The Sunday Telegraph: “If someone tapped on my door and asked me to help, I’d be there in a heartbeat.

“But at the moment, I’ve got four or five years when my son isn’t at school and that is not a time that I’m contemplating moving 450 miles away for the majority of the week. It’s just some things are more important than politics.”

When she resigned as party leader, Davidson said the thought of fighting elections and being away from her son filled her with “dread”. The Tory insisted her decision to leave was personal and not political.

“I have to be honest, where once the idea of getting on the road to fight two elections in 20 months would once have fired me up, the threat of spending hundreds of hours away from my home and family now fills me with dread,” she said. “That is no way to lead.”

She added: “I fear that having tried to be a good leader over the years, I have proved a poor daughter, sister, partner and friend. The party and my work has always come first, often at the expense of commitments to loved ones. The arrival of my son means I now make a different choice.”

READ MORE: Ruth Davidson accused of ‘discrepancy’ over £50k-a-year lobby job

The outgoing Tory chief also claimed she remained loyal to Johnson.

But less than a week after her resignation she criticised the party leadership for removing the whip from 32 pro-Remain Tory rebels, including Sir Nicholas Soames.

Davidson tweeted: “How, in the name of all that is good and holy, is there no longer room in the Conservative Party for @NSoames?”

The Tory’s career prospects have likely been at the front of her mind these last few weeks.

In October, the MSP was at the centre of a conflict of interest row after she was hired by lobbying firm, Tulchan Communications, to work two days a week for £50,000 a year.

The Public Relations and Communications Association director general Francis Ingham said it was “simply wrong for lobbying agencies to employ legislators”.

A few days later, Davidson and Tulchan later agreed “not to proceed with the appointment”.

In the wide-ranging interview with The Telegraph, Davidson also spoke about coming out to her family.

Davidson said: “I’ve never really spoken about it because the relationship I have with my family [now] is not the same as the [one] I had with them at the time I came out.

“It’s to protect them. I put myself in this position. I’m not naive. But there are people in my life who didn’t choose that.”

“I was in my mid-20s [when I came out] – quite late. I didn’t know for ages, which is surprising, looking back,” she added.

“I came out to one member of my very close family, it didn’t go well, so I didn’t come out to the rest for two years.”

Davidson also told the paper she could get up to 1000 abusive tweets a day.

She said: “It wears you down. I’ve had a lot of ‘string her up by a lamppost’ type stuff; ‘Unionists, turncoats, traitors’... And I had an incident where someone got my phone number and made threats. It turned out not to be that sinister, but I didn’t know that when I was being told they wanted to burn all gays.”