Ruth Davidson
| Ruth Davidson | |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Name | Ruth Elizabeth Davidson (born 10 November 1978) |
| Nicknames | Ruth |
| Politics | |
| Party | Conservative |
| Constituency | Edinburgh Central (Scottish Parliament) (6 May 2016 - present) |
| Positions | • Leader of the Opposition • Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party |
| Likes | Kickboxing, hill walking, beer |
| Dislikes | Homophobia |
| Friends | Tories |
| Enemies | Nicola Sturgeon |
| Relationships | |
| Partners | Jen Wilson (February 2014 - present) |
| Children | Child 1 (year born), Child 2 (year born), etc |
| Personal Attributes | |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Religion | Church of Scotland |
| Sexuality | Lesbian |
| Height | In feet and inches |
| Eye Colour | ? |
| Handedness | ? |
| Accent | Scottish (Fife inflection) |
Jamie Ross is now in the back of my car, being forcefed Haribo Tangfastics. *cackles wildly while checking tarpaulin and shovel*~ Ruth Davidson on twitter
Best known for making the Conservatives the second largest party in Scotland and her amazing photo-ops.
Life and Career[edit | edit source]
Early Life[edit | edit source]
Ruth was born in Edinburgh and raised in Selkirk and Fife. Her father was a mill manager and professional footballer who played for the ever prestigious Partick Thistle F.C and later Selkirk F.C.
Ruth studied English lit at University of Edinburgh.
Pre-political Career[edit | edit source]
Ruth never wanted to go into politics - upon graduation she went in journalism, becoming a trainee reporter at the Glenrothes Gazette. She then went into radio, eventually joining BBC SCotland in 2002. She stayed there for seven years in various roles, eventually leaving to study International Development at the University of Glasgow.
During her time at the BBC she also served as a Signaller in the Territorial Army. She was there for three years before she had to leave due to suffering a back injury in a training exercise.
She also worked as a Sunday School teacher.
Early Political Career[edit | edit source]
Ruth joined the Conservative Party when she went to study in Glasgow. She said that she was inspired by David Cameron's call for people who were not usually interested in politics to give it a go after the expenses scandal.
In 2009 she was the Conservative candidate for the Glasgow North East by-election triggered by the resignation of Speaker Michael Martin. She came in third with 5.2% of the vote and in 2010 she stood in the same seat, improving her share of the vote to 5.3%. During the election, as well as being a candidate in her own right, Ruth was head of the leader of the Scottish Conservative Party's office and used her journalistic background to help run the campaign in Scotland.
After that she decided that Westminster wasn't really for her.
Scottish Parliamentary Career[edit | edit source]
Ruth was selected to contest the Glasgow Kelvin constituency in the 2011 Scottish parliament elections. It was a no-hope seat. She was placed second on the regional list which was seen as an insult - the Glasgow region generally only returned one Conservative MSP so it looked like she wouldn't be getting in to the Scottish Parliament either. First on the list was Malcolm Macaskill, a Glaswegian businessman who had been in the Conservative Party almost as long as Ruth had been alive.
However, the newspaper dug up some stories about Macaskill's financial situation and business dealings - non-declaration of this, defrauding that - which resulted in his deselection. This bumped Ruth up to first place on the regional list and sent her straight to Holyrood.
Leadership election[edit | edit source]
Shortly after the Scottish Parliamentary elections, the leader of the Conservative Party in Scotland stood down. Ruth quickly became a contender for the leadership (allegedly backed secretly by David Cameron and George Osborne though her supporters claim that was just "smear tactics"). The biggest policy that set her apart from the other front runner is that, unlike her rival Murdo Fraser, Ruth didn't want to disband the Conservative Party and set up a new, completely different centre-right party in Scotland.
Her campaign didn't run smoothly, however - she sacked her campaign head when video of him burning an EU flag came to light and the media director of the Scottish Conservative Party was suspended because he had dinner at her flat. Eventually, Ruth won the leadership election and became the new leader of the Scottish Conservative Party on 4 November 2011. It was a tight race with just 500 votes between her and Murdo Fraser after second preference votes were counted. People signed. Donors pulled funding. Scotland was in shock. Ruth didn't care all that much since she had backing from the House of Lords, the only Scottish MP and the chairman of the Conservative Party.
Ruth's views are pro-rural ferries, pro-video games, pro-religious schools, and tough on crime. She also told Theresa May to fight her over the UK staying the ECHR.
2016 Scottish Parliament elections[edit | edit source]
After the 2015 general election and the massive support for the SNP, many people though that Ruth's time as leader would be over soon.
This plan was turned on its head when in 2016 Ruth led the Conservative Party in Scotland to the biggest electoral success in almost 25 years. They became the second largest party in Scotland (31 seats), Ruth herself won a constituency seat and so was no longer on the list vote and she became the Leader of the Opposition against Nicola Sturgeon. Their vote - and the seats they took off the SNP - resulted in the SNP forming an minority government and no longer arguing they had a mandate for a second independence referendum.
Ruth was hailed as a hero in many parts of the country, not just in Scotland, for basically saving the Union.
| Full List of Appointments |
|---|
| • Conservative spokesperson for Culture, Europe and External Relations (Start date 12 May 2011 - End date 4 November 2011) |
| • Member- Local Government and Regeneration Committee (Start date 1 June 2011 - End date 16 November 2011) |
| • Substitute Member- Education and Culture Committee (Start date 23 June 2011 - End date 25 January 2012) |
| • Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party (4 November 2011 - present) |
Not everyone has great moments, but if they do, you can link to videos of them in the table below:
| Greatest Moments | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Summary | Video | Transcript |
| ??? | Ruth discusses her tweets on Have I Got News For You with pretend Tony Blair | Captioned video | |
Personal Life[edit | edit source]
Ruth is a lesbian and struggled with her religious upbringing and her sexuality for a long time. She came out in an interview in the Herald in 2011. Her partners thus far have been a Green-voting vegan followed by an environmental campaigner.
Ruth and her partner Jennifer Wilson got engaged while on holiday in Paris in May 2016.
Portrayal[edit | edit source]
In the Media[edit | edit source]
Buzzfeed - and in particular their Scottish politics reporter Jamie Ross - helped boost Ruth to her meme-like status with such amazing articles as "I Was Fed A Solero By The Leader Of The Scottish Conservatives"[1] and "Ruth Davidson Is Having The Most Fun Election Campaign Ever"[2]
She is also widely loved for her incredible photo ops.
Ruth on a tank evoking memories of Margaret Thatcher (which may not be the best plan in Scotland...)
Ruth feeds a Solero to Buzzfeed reporter Jamie Ross in a call back to Alex Salmond
Ruth shows people how to drink a pint
Ruth shows people what a properly poured pint ready to be drunk looks like
Ruth isn't taking any of that nonsense!
Not only can she hold and drink a proper pint but she could beat you up too
Come and 'ave a go if you think you're 'ard enough!
Playing sports with children and not landing them in hospital is a skill in the Conservative Party
Ruth reminds people she's Scottish - just in case they forgot.
Ruth out.
In Culture[edit | edit source]
Eventually there's going to be a biopic of Sturgeon or Salmond so she may feature in that. But that's about it.
In Fanon[edit | edit source]
Ruth has yet to appear in fanon a great deal but she's sort of known on the edges as "that one Tory that basically everyone likes even though she's a Tory".
