Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross to stand in seat after outgoing MP David Duguid blocked by Tories
David Duguid - who is recovering from spinal surgery - said he was keen to stand in the seat in the election on 4 July.
Thursday 6 June 2024 12:05, UK
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has announced he is standing in the upcoming general election - in a seat where the expected Tory candidate is recovering from spinal surgery.
Mr Ross had announced he was standing down as a Westminster MP to concentrate on his job as an MSP (Member of the Scottish Parliament) ahead of the 2026 Holyrood election campaign.
But, on Thursday morning, with 24 hours left for nominations to be confirmed, he announced he will be standing to be a Westminster MP in the new Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency.
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His Moray constituency has been abolished this year due to boundary changes but has been taken into the new area.
Aberdeenshire North and Moray East has also taken in the Banff and Buchan constituency Scottish office minister David Duguid has held since 2017.
The move by Mr Ross is set to be controversial - as Mr Duguid was not selected for the seat on Wednesday evening due to health grounds, the Scottish Conservatives said.
However, Mr Duguid had said he had been looking forward to standing in the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency as he was making a good recovery from surgery.
He recently spent four weeks in intensive care due to an illness affecting his spine.
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Mr Ross said the party had to make the difficult decision not to allow Mr Duguid to stand as he was not well enough.
He said he only made the decision to stand in the seat on Thursday morning and had not seen himself standing as an MP in this election.
"I've decided I need to lead from the front," he said. "I will stand in the seat and I intend to beat the SNP, just as I've done in the past, so we can get focused on the top priorities of local people."
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Mr Ross praised Mr Duguid, describing him as a "friend and colleague" who has "built a strong and impressive reputation as a champion for fishing and many other issues".
He added: "I fully expect the SNP to throw absolutely everything they've got at me. They will mobilise teams from the central belt to come north and deliver leaflets.
"John Swinney will pay the area a rare visit, SNP headquarters in Edinburgh will pour money into Aberdeen North and Moray East."
Mr Ross accepted there would be "concerns" among local members at the way Mr Duguid has been treated.
The SNP attacked Mr Ross's decision almost immediately, describing the treatment of Mr Duguid as "indefensible".
"The nasty party just got nastier," SNP campaign chief Stewart Hosie said.
Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said the decision makes it clear "there is no promise flip flop Ross won't break".
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A YouGov poll with Sky News published this week has Aberdeenshire and Moray East staying Conservative, while the seat of Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, which is made up mostly of Mr Ross's old seat of Moray, is set to go to the SNP.
As well as Mr Ross, the other confirmed candidates in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East are:
• Ian Bailey - Liberal Democrats
• Andrew Brown - Labour
• Seamus Logan - SNP