Meghan Gallacher's 'decency' call on Douglas Ross probe as Scottish Tory likens herself to Margaret Thatcher

The Tory leadership hopeful said “serious questions need to be answered”, following claims Mr Ross asked Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey candidate Kathleen Robertson in July last year if he could replace her. Mr Ross is also alleged to have told Ms Robertson he wanted leadership hopeful Russell Findlay to replace him.

Having already stood down as deputy leader over the claims, Ms Gallacher has now said there “needs” to be an investigation.

Appearing on the The Ponsonby and Massie Podcast, she said: “For me it was about integrity, it was about decency. Women have a tough job in politics as it is. I felt I had to take a stand.

“I think there needs to be an investigation into exactly what happened between Kathleen and Douglas because that’s not the conversations I would expect if I was leader.

“I want to see more women in Parliament, I want to see more young people in Parliament. But if these accusations and allegations are thrown out into the public domain, serious questions need to be answered, because that could potentially have meant that a woman wasn’t going to be standing for us at the general election.”

There was also praise for former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who Ms Gallacher said she “really liked her as a person”.

She said: “The way in which she conveyed herself, she was a bloody strong woman, she did not take any s**t from anyone. She was that type of politician, and I definitely see myself in that as well.” 

Earlier this week, Mr Ross disputed aspects of the allegations, but not that he suggested he could replace Ms Robertson. It comes as the Scottish Tory leadership candidate became the 11th MSP to back Tom Tugendhat to become Tory leader.

Speaking to The Scotsman, the Central Scotland MSP suggested Mr Tugendhat would let the Scottish Tories campaign on issues in Scotland, rather than “firefighting” problems caused by the Westminster party.

Ms Gallacher said: “I believe he is the right person to unite the party and make the Conservative across the UK a winning force.

“When we are going through two leadership contests, we need someone who understands the country and understands the needs of Scotland. We also need a team builder, someone who can work with everyone to make sure the Conservatives are appealing to a wide range of voters right across the UK.

“It was a bruising election result right across the UK and now is the time to have someone who is serious about fixing our party, uniting it and tackling the big issues head on.”

Ms Gallacher also claimed Mr Tugendhat could help see a “reset” in relations between the Scottish Tories and their Westminster counterparts, and restore “dignity” to the party.

She said: “For me, being an MSP is about better communication and making sure leadership works right across the UK. Being a leadership candidate in Scotland is all about making sure we strengthen our bonds and that relationship across the UK. That’s certainly one of the things I'm standing on.

“I want to see a reset so we’re looking at devolution, strengthening our policies, but also making sure that the leader understands the needs in Scotland which sometimes can be different, and Tom definitely gets that.”