DOUGLAS Ross has claimed that Nicola Sturgeon is “rattled” and doesn’t “seem to be enjoying” her time as First Minister.
The Scottish Tory leader made the claim while speaking to journalists at a press huddle during his party’s conference in Aberdeen.
Asked if he expected to face Sturgeon in the 2026 Holyrood election or if she would have left as leader by then, Ross said he hoped she would step down so he could win the bet the two have going on who will depart first.
The Moray MP went on: “I will take on whoever leads the SNP, but I will be positive, I’ll be ambitious for the future of the country.
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“But any leader of the SNP come the Scottish election will also have to defend their two decades in power and how they really haven't improved Scotland in that time.”
Asked specifically what he thought of the First Minister, Ross said: “I think everything about Nicola Sturgeon shows that she's rattled, she doesn't seem to be enjoying the job. She doesn't seem to give much to her cabinet ministers. She doesn't seem to delegate a lot.
“And I just don't see any vision from her to change things in Scotland.”
He went on: “I see her as someone who clearly came into politics to change things – that's what everyone gets into politics for – but she's had so many levers of power, she's had so many opportunities.
“Can you imagine, if we focused the might of the Scottish Government, the civil service, the record funding coming from the UK Government to the Scottish Government, to actually make a difference, rather than to create grievances, to create conflict with Westminster and agitate for another independence referendum.
“If we'd actually done far more to improve the lives of people in Scotland, then I think she may be happier, she may be able to stick around longer.
“But the longer that she can't offer any new solutions, I think people will just be wondering, what would she really deliver for Scotland?”
The SNP's depute Westminster leader, Kirsten Oswald MP, said: “Douglas Ross’s entire leadership of the Scottish Conservative Party has been characterised by flip-flopping and negativity - it looks like we can now add lack of self-awareness to that list as well.
"The SNP will continue working hard for the people of Scotland - and leave Douglas Ross to fight it out for third place.”
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