Douglas Ross

Douglas Ross was born in Aberdeen. He was elected as a councillor in 2007 for Fochabers-Lhanbryde ward on Moray council, serving on the council administration. Ross contested Moray at the 2010 and 2015 general elections, both times unsuccessfully. He also contested Moray in the 2011 and 2016 Scottish Parliament elections but was, again, unsuccessful. Contesting Moray for a third time in 2017, he was finally elected an MP. Ross claims that his entry into the Commons, on a 16.5 per cent vote swing, was only surpassed by his wedding day as the “proudest moment” of his life. He subsequently joined the Home Affairs Committee. Ross voted Remain in the 2016 referendum and voted against Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement at the first vote, later abstaining on the second vote and at the third voted in favour of it. Initially after entering parliament, he balanced his political commitments with being a professional football referee. Ross saw his majority slashed in the 2019 general election to just 513. Nevertheless, shortly after the vote he joined the government becoming parliamentary under-secretary of state for Scotland. In 2020, Ross became leader of the Scottish Conservative Party.