Douglas Ross (Scottish politician)
Douglas Gordon Ross is a Scottish Conservative Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament for Moray since 2017. He was previously a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Highlands and Islands region from 2016 to 2017.
Born in Aberdeen, Ross was educated at Forres Academy. After graduating from the Scottish Agricultural College, he worked on a dairy farm. A member of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in his youth, he switched to the Scottish Conservatives and began his political career as a Scottish Parliament researcher and then a councillor in Moray. He stood unsuccessfully for the Moray UK Parliament constituency in the 2010 and 2015 general elections and for the Scottish Parliament constituency in 2011 and 2016. In the latter election, he was elected as a regional list MSP as one of the additional members for the Highlands and Islands.
Ross was elected to the House of Commons at the 2017 general election, defeating SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson, and was re-elected in 2019 with a reduced majority. He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland under Prime Minister Boris Johnson for six months. He resigned in May 2020, in protest at Dominic Cummings continuing to serve as Johnson's adviser after allegedly breaking lockdown rules during the COVID-19 pandemic.
After the resignation of Jackson Carlaw in July 2020, Ross announced his candidature in the next Scottish Conservative Party leadership election.
Early life and career
Douglas Gordon Ross was born in Aberdeen on 27 January 1983 to Sandy and Lesley Ross. He was educated at the state secondary Forres Academy before going on to study Agriculture at the Scottish Agricultural College. After graduating, he worked on a dairy farm near Forres, Moray; where his father had been working as a cattleman. He was a member of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in his youth but later became a Conservative voter.Political career
Ross began his political career when he took up a post as a parliamentary researcher at the Scottish Parliament. He was first elected to The Moray Council in 2007, representing the Fochabers-Lhanbryde ward, and became part of the Independent/Conservative administration. He resigned from the council administration in December 2009 but continued as a councillor. In 2012, he was re-elected to The Moray Council and again became part of the ruling administration group but was "ousted" from this in 2014, following a debate about school closures.Ross stood as the Conservative candidate for Moray at the 2010 and 2015 general elections, coming second to Angus Robertson but increased his share of the vote by 5.0% in 2015. He also stood as the Conservative candidate for the Moray Scottish Parliament constituency at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election but finished second to Richard Lochhead. At the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Ross increased his vote by 18.0% but again finished behind Lockhead. However, he was elected to the Scottish Parliament after being placed first on the Highlands and Islands regional list. He supported the UK remaining within the European Union in the 2016 membership referendum.
Ross stood again for the seat of Moray at the 2017 general election, challenging SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson. He was successful in overturning Robertson's 9,065 majority with 22,637 votes, 47.6% of the votes cast, gaining a 16.5% swing to the Conservatives. Having gained a seat at Westminster, Ross resigned from his seat in the Scottish Parliament.
In 2017, Ross said during an interview that if he was Prime Minister for a day "without any repercussions", he would "like to see tougher enforcement against Gypsy Travellers". His remark was criticised, including by Naomi McAuliffe of Amnesty International. Ross apologised for his use of language. The Scottish Football Association launched a disciplinary investigation into his remarks, which did not lead to any formal disciplinary action, but warned him to pay attention to his use of language.
SNP and Labour spokespeople criticised Ross for missing a debate on Universal Credit in October 2017, due to his commitments as a football referee. Shortly afterwards, Ross decided he would no longer accept referee appointments while the UK Parliament is sitting.
Despite backing remaining in the EU prior to the referendum, Ross stated Parliament should complete Brexit to "deliver the will of the British people". He voted against Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal agreement at the first round of voting and was absent for the second following his wife going into labour. He supported Mark Harper then subsequently Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
Ross was re-elected at the 2019 general election with a reduced majority. He was then appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, replacing Colin Clark who had lost his seat in the election. He resigned from this role on 26 May 2020, in protest against Dominic Cummings continuing to serve as Chief Adviser to the Prime Minister after having travelled over 260 miles from London to Durham during the COVID-19 lockdown period.
Ross announced his candidature in the next Scottish Conservative Party leadership election after by Jackson Carlaw's resignation on 30 July 2020.
Football referee
Ross is a qualified football referee. Ross was one of the officials for the 2015 Scottish Cup Final, assisting Willie Collum. He continued his refereeing career after being elected to the Scottish Parliament, and the UK Parliament.In the House of Commons Register of Members' Interests, Ross declared earnings of more than £2,700 in August and September 2017 for his work as an assistant referee. In October, Ross told the football authorities that he would no longer accept refereeing appointments during the week while the UK Parliament is sitting. By December 2017 his declared income from 20 domestic and international games since becoming an MP was more than £11,000.
In December 2018, BBC Sport reported that Ross had reduced the number of refereeing appointments due to his work commitments as an MP. At this time, Ross also argued that the Scottish Football Association should not appoint fully professional referees.