MORAY COUNCILLOR DOUGLAS ROSS has said he is “delighted and honoured” to have been given a place on the Shadow Cabinet at Holyrood.
Elected to the Scottish Parliament earlier this month, Mr Ross is considered to be one of the rising stars of his party – so it has come as no real surprise that he has been rewarded with the post of Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Justice in Ruth Davidson’s team.
His rapid promotion follows a great showing in the election in which he increased his personal vote to greatly reduce the majority of the SNP’s Richard Lochhead. He was elected as first name on the Conservative list for the Highlands and Islands, one of three Tories elected in the region.
Last week Mr Ross confirmed that he would also continue as a Moray Councillor – and member of the local authority police and fire scrutiny committee.
Following his appointment today he said: “I’m delighted that Ruth has invited me to be part of her team during this exciting period for Scottish Conservatives and Scottish politics.
“At the election we were returned as the main opposition party on a pledge to hold the SNP government to account and I’m looking forward to getting involved in all the areas included in this significant brief.
“I hope my experience as a former member of the Grampian Joint Police Board and the first Chair of Moray Council’s Police and Fire Scrutiny Committee will serve me well in this position. I want to work with all parties to move forward in a number of areas and also scrutinise any proposals coming from the Scottish Government.
“Our job in opposition is to reign in the minority government if we think their plans overstep the mark and to offer amendments where we think their proposals can be improved.
“I feel the further you get from the central belt the more concerns are raised about centralisation within the justice system. Whether it be the workings of Police Scotland, court closures or many other issues. I aim to ensure that our communities have a strong voice at the heart of Scottish politics standing up for them on justice matters.”
Douglas Ross MSP will write a regular monthly diary for insideMoray from June. He joins Labour’s Rhoda Grant and David Stewart MSP’s, who will resume writing alternative monthly updates between them from this weekend. The invitation has also been extended to Richard Lochhead MSP and John Finnie MSP, from whom we are awaiting a reply.