Tory councillor Scott Douglas chosen as candidate to replace Ruth Davidson in Edinburgh Central

Tories in Edinburgh Central have chosen city councillor Scott Douglas as their candidate to succeed Ruth Davidson at next year's Scottish Parliament elections.

Scott.Douglas has been councillor for Corstorphine/Murrayfield since 2017

Ms Davidson, who won the seat from the SNP at the last elections in 2016, is standing down and is due to take up a place in the House of Lords.

Cllr Douglas was one of three names on the shortlist presented to Conservative members in the constituency at a virtual selection meeting last night.

It is understood that fellow councillor Joanna Mowat, who had been tipped to win the nomination, was eliminated in the first round of voting.

The runner-up to Cllr Douglas was a businessman Malcolm Offord. A fourth contender who had been shortlisted pulled out ahead of the meeting.

Cllr Douglas has represented Corstorphine/Murrayfield on the city council since 2017.

He went to Edinburgh Academy, graduated with a politics degree from Edinburgh University in 2010. He is now head of PR and public affairs at Fife College.

One insider said: “All three candidates performed extremely well last night, but Scott is an undoubtedly a gifted young politician who knows how to communicate with members and his skills at that were obvious at the selection."

However, he faces a tough fight to retain the seat for the Tories. It was a big surprise when Ms Davidson won it last time with a majority of 610 and it is now one of the SNP’s top target seats. Former SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson has already been chosen as the party’s candidate.

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