New Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has said that he will not shy away from challenging Boris Johnson if he believes that the PM is not acting in the best interests of Scotland.
Ross is a known ally of Johnson having backed him in the 2019 Conservative leadership contest, but nevertheless stood down as a Scotland Office minister in May over the Dominic Cummings controversy.
In an interview with BBC Scotland, the new Scottish Tory leader said that his role did not mean standing by the UK government’s actions.
Ross said: “I will back the prime minister where I think it is right for Scotland. But if I think he has got something wrong, or where I think the government has got something wrong, I'll stand up and say that.
"I've shown people across Scotland that if I think the prime minister has got it wrong, I'll tell him".
When asked whether he believed the prime minister to be a help or a hindrance to his party, Ross simply said: “Mr Johnson is not standing for election to the Scottish Parliament next year”.’
Explaining that the Scottish Conservatives are “distinct” from the main UK party, Ross said: "We have different policies, we had different policies at the last election and we will have a range of policies going forward.
"But I am the leader of the Scottish Conservatives and I'm the one that's taking the fight to the SNP day in, day out and I'll continue to do that for the next nine months until the election in May next year."
Amid news that the UK national debt surpassed £2 trillion for the first time, chancellor Rishi Sunak has said that the public purse has been put “under significant strain” as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Telegraph reports.
The government borrowed a further £26.7 billion in July, taking total borrowing for the year up to £150.5 billion and leaving national debt at 100.5 per cent of UK GDP.
Despite the deep hit to the economy, Sunak insisted that without the mitigation measures which had led to the soaring debt, the situation would have been “far worse”.
Sunak said: "Today’s figures are a stark reminder that we must return our public finances to a sustainable footing over time, which will require taking difficult decisions."
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