The leader of the Scottish Conservatives has quit in response to Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament to avoid scrutiny of his Brexit plans and limit the options of MPs to thwart his push towards no deal.
Davidson had become a popular figure in the moderate wing of the Tory party, with many hoping that she would challenge to become leader of the party in the future. However, she has found it difficult to hold together her ideas for a united country, whilst the vast majority of Scots voted to stay in the European Union, and the new Leave campaign-led Westminster Conservatives appear intent on pushing the country out of the EU with or without a deal in a month’s time.
In her resignation letter, Davidson was careful not to directly contradict Johnson but admitted she felt conflicted over the issue of Brexit and was focused more on limiting the damage it would cause Scottish businesses than fully signing up to Johnson’s claims that crashing out of an alliance with our biggest trading partner and losing all our free trade deals around the world would not cause severe problems for the British economy.
It has been the privilege of my life to serve as @ScotTories leader. This morning I wrote to the Scottish party chairman to tender my resignation. pic.twitter.com/CJ9EjW2RqN
— Ruth Davidson (@RuthDavidsonMSP) August 29, 2019
A number of commentators have warned a no-deal Brexit could result in the disintegration of the United Kingdom, as it would increase both the possibility of Northern Ireland choosing to leave the union and join Ireland to prevent a hard border on the island, and Scotland will likely push for another independence referendum after they are dragged out of the EU without their consent.
