RUTH Davidson has ruled herself out of the race to succeed David Cameron despite some colleagues tipping her for the top job.

With an expectation at Westminster that the Prime Minister will stand down from his Downing Street role following the result of the EU in-out referendum, whatever it is, speculation has been growing about which leading Conservative might succeed him.

The names put forward have been the obvious choices of Chancellor George Osborne and Home Secretary Theresa May with the possibility of London Mayor Boris Johnson throwing his hat in the ring.

But within Tory circles some insiders have been mentioning the name of the Scottish Conservative leader as someone who would offer something different and not fit the typical white, middle-aged pin-striped suited Tory patrician and who might widen the appeal of Conservative support north and south of the border.

At last autumn's party conference, one senior ministerial source close to Mr Cameron talked up Ms Davidson's chances. When asked if she could be a potential candidate to succeed him, he replied: “If people want a strong woman candidate to succeed him, then Ruth is obviously a strong woman candidate.”

Also in 2015, Heidi Allen, the Tory MP for South Cambridgeshire, said she wanted to see a candidate to succeed Mr Cameron, who offered a different kind of politics.

“I want to see somebody completely new, I mean I’m a new MP so I’m still learning. People like Ruth Davidson, for example, are amazing. I want to see somebody with a bit of fire in their belly because whether you are a fan of Jeremy Corbyn or Nigel Farage or those sorts of characters, people are looking for somebody with a bit of oomph and a bit of character and an honest way of talking.”

Ms Davidson, 37, has certainly won plaudits for her feisty approach with SNP insiders claiming that when it comes to First Minister’s Questions she regularly provides stiffer opposition than Scottish Labour’s Kezia Dugdale.

Moreover, the Glasgow MSP is genuinely regarded as having had a good Scottish independence referendum campaign, has raised the profile of her party, particularly among young voters, and last week saw her party overtake Labour in an opinion poll as the Tories seek to replace Ms Dugdale’s party as Holyrood’s official opposition.

In January, the Scottish Tory leader controversially said she believed that neither Mr Osborne nor Ms May or Mr Johnson would succeed Mr Cameron, stressing how the party did “not always pick the obvious choice”.

She said she did not rule out a career in the Commons but suggested the loneliness of the highest office did not appeal to her.

Yet some of her colleagues did not lose hope that she had not closed the door completely on leading the UK party and one day entering No 10.

But when asked on the BBC’s Daily Politics if she would rule herself from the future contest to succeed Mr Cameron, the MSP – put at 50/1 odds by the programme to become the next UK Tory leader - finally appeared unequivocal, saying: “I would rule myself out absolutely. I have no interest in the job.”

Tory backbencher, Jacob Rees-Mogg, who was also on the programme, bemoand her decision, saying: “Please don’t rule yourself out; you’d be brilliant.”

Ms Davidson, who has previously suggested a new leader could come from the 2010 Conservative intake, singled out Stephen Crabb, the Welsh Secretary, as someone whom she particularly admired.

“Stephen Crabb is somebody that I have a real friendship with in politics, which is quite unusual, and whose gifts, whose warmth and whose life story brings him much closer to the people of Britain. He is a very good communicator. I would like to see him get a really big job in government.

“What is really interesting is how many people you could see(from Conservative ranks) walking up the road to No 10 but you can’t see that of the current Labour leader,” she added.