What is doing now?
was made of in 2021 after being given a life peerage in the House of Lords.
She resigned as the following ‘s victory in the 2019 Tory leadership contest. She was succeeded by .
She stepped down from the in 2021, ahead of being granted her peerage.
Lady Davidson became a mother in 2018 when she became pregnant via IVF treatment. On 26 October, Davidson gave birth to her son at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
Since February 2022 she has hosted her own weekly Show.
Rumours swirled in June 2022 that Davidson was planning a political comeback, with suggestions she could be involved with Tony Blair’s “Future of Britain” project evolving into a new political party.
Davidson sought to pour cold water on the idea, swiftly tweeting: “A new party? I’m sitting on a panel at a conference for 60 mins (which I could have told them if they’d asked). I do easily a few dozen similar a year.”
She lives in Scotland with her son and her partner Jen, who is from County Wexford in Ireland
‘s political career
In a 2009 by-election, and then in the 2010 general election, Davidson stood for election in the Parliamentary constituency of Glasgow North East, coming fourth and third place respectively.
In the 2011 Scottish Parliamentary elections, Davidson came fourth in the Glasgow Kelvin seat, but was elected to Holyrood through the Glasgow regional list.
Annabel Goldie stepped down in May 2011 and Davidson won the leadership contest with 40.3 per cent of the votes.
She campaigned vigorously against independence in the 2014 referendum, saying that she loved the “wonderful messiness of these islands”.
In January 2015 she criticised the for flying flags at half-mast following the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia as “a steaming pile of nonsense”. Saudi Arabian authorities, who operate under Sharia Law, had recently publicly beheaded a woman and sentenced a blogger to 1,000 lashes.
In the wake of ‘s resignation as Scotland’s first minister, Davidson nominated herself for the role, arguing that she wanted to present “an alternative vision of Scotland”. Unsurprisingly, given the SNP’s majority in Edinburgh, Davidson lost, receiving 15 votes to ‘s 66.
Under Davidson’s leadership, the Scottish Conservatives doubled their number of MSPs in the 2016 election.
Davidson campaigned for the UK to remain in the European Union ahead of the 2016 referendum. In October of the same year, she argued that the UK ought to seek membership of the Single Market and Customs Union following Brexit, even if this meant accepting freedom of movement with other member states.
During the 2016 leadership election triggered by David Cameron’s resignation, she backed home secretary .
After her Party’s success at the polls earlier that year, Davidson was herself tipped as a potential successor to David Cameron, but she poured cold water on this idea in a May 2016 interview saying she would find the top job ‘lonely’.
In 2018 she said she would not stand in any future leadership contests because of her “mental health”.
Following ‘s first visit to Scotland as PM in July 2019, she stated that she would not support a “no-deal” Brexit.
In July 2022, she backed rather than to be the next Conservative .
and
Davidson made no secret of her disagreements with before and after her time in office.
Following her resignation as Scottish , Davidson vocally opposed ‘s suspension of 21 Conservative MPs in September 2019 after he claimed they needed to be replaced by “more compliant Conservatives”. She came out in support of erstwhile home secretary Amber Rudd’s decision to quit the cabinet over the matter.
Ahead of being sworn into the House of Lords last July, Davidson slammed the government’s cuts to the foreign aid budget as a “bloody disgrace”.
In her first debate as a peer, she spoke in favour of Baroness Meacher’s assisted suicide bill.
Away from
Davidson was born in Edinburgh in 1978 and raised in Selkirk and Fife. Her father Douglas worked as a mill manager and played professional football. He later worked for a Whisky firm.
Davidson had a varied career prior to her political campaigns. After studying English Literature at the University of Edinburgh she trained as a journalist with the Glenrothes Gazette, later moving to and eventually working as a producer and reporter for BBC Scotland. She later left the BBC to work as a signaller for the Territorial Army.
A member of the Church of Scotland, Davidson has also worked as a Sunday school teacher.
