A TORY minister’s prediction that Douglas Ross will be the next first minister has prompted amusement among Scots.
The Scottish Conservatives received 21.9% of the constituency vote and 23.5% of the regional vote at the May election, while the SNP received 47.7% of the former and 40.3% of the latter, with Nicola Sturgeon elected first minister.
Ross is not well liked among voters, according to opinion polls which put his approval rating far behind Sturgeon and Scottish Labour chief Anas Sarwar. As of April, his overall approval rating according to Ipsos MORI was -23.
During Liz Truss’s two-day trip to Scotland she claimed Scottish businesses are “excited” about Brexit and told The Herald she believes the Tories will win the next Scottish election.
The International Trade Secretary described Ross as “fantastic”, and when asked if she thought he would be Scotland’s next first minister said: “Yes.”
Asked if he would win the 2026 election she told the newspaper: “I do. He’s a great guy.”
Independence supporters pounced on Truss’s claim, with SNP MSP Rona Mackay one of those criticising the Tory minister.
"Liz Truss flounced into Scotland yesterday displaying an ignorance that was quite frankly negligent,” she said. “She launched a Tory government document without a clue about how it would affect Scotland and instead boasted about how many jobs it would create in England.
"Even Douglas Ross knows Douglas Ross will never be First Minister. In the Scottish election just two months ago he admitted the best he could hope for was second place.
"Liz Truss clearly knows little and cares even less about Scotland. Yesterday she demonstrated such ignorance about our country that she must have needed directions to find us."
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There was also disbelief on Twitter, with users branding Truss’s belief “comedy gold”.
“There is more chance of a trade deal with the moon …” another advised the Brexiteer minister.
“Put £5000 on me winning the 100 Metres Olympics in Tokyo in under than 4.0 seconds,” joked Iain Dear. “You've more chance of winning.”
Others suggested the Scottish heatwave was affecting Truss during her trip.
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