RUTH Davidson has revealed that Boris Johnson did not personally propose her for a peerage and that she was “genuinely astonished” when he didn't block it.
The former Tory leader, who has never hidden her disdain for the Prime Minister, said her first reaction to his approval was “Are you f***ing kidding me?”
Ms Davidson made the comments, which indicate the peerage recommendation came from other senior Tories, ahead of her arrival at the House of Lords this week.
She also said she wanted to reform the Upper House top make it a “democratic chamber” instead of the current mixture of hereditary peers and appointees.
She will be formally introduced on Tuesday as Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links, taking the name from the Fife coastal village where she grew up.
Ms Davidson was given her peerage in the dissolution honours list of 2019, although this was not published until July last year, at the same time as the 2020 dissolution honours list.
She was listed as one of ten “Nominations from the Leader of the Conservative Party”, however her comments indicate this was purely a formality.
She will be introduced at the Lords on Tuesday by two former Scottish Tory party colleagues - former director Lord Mark McInnes and former chairman and former Advocate General Lord Keen.
Lord McInnes, a campaign veteran who helped steer the Tory revival at Holyrood, was recently named as Mr Johnson’s special adviser on Scotland and the Union.
Baroness Davidson, 42, backed three candidates to be Tory leader in 2019 as the race narrowed - Sajid Javid, Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt- but never Mr Johnson.
A few months after Mr Johnson won, the fierce Remain campaigner quit as leader of the Scottish Tories after eight years in the job citing family life and Brexit.
She stood down as the MSP for Edinburgh Central at May’s election.
READ MORE: Conservatives 'gave up' fight to keep Ruth Davidson's Holyrood seat
In an interview with the Scottish Mail on Sunday, Ms Davidson laughed as she admitted being surprised that Mr Johnson had sanctioned her move to the Lords.
She said: “I’m astonished he signed it off. Genuinely astonished. When it came through, I was like, ‘Are you f***king kidding me?’”
She also suggested she would not be in a hurry to help Mr Johnson when she arrives.
“Do you know what’s great about the House of Lords? Part of the oath that you sign up to is that you have to be independent minded.
“You can tell your whips to naff off if required. That suits me just fine. I don't think I’ve ever been accused of being lobby fodder, and I’m not going to be.
“I do sometimes think my government is wrong, and I’m going to say it.
“But I do also think they’ve made a lot of right calls. Offering a path to citizenship to British passport holders in Hong Kong is the right thing to do.”
Why is it that so many politicians who accept a peerage then feel the need to say they are going there to reform it?
— Tricia Marwick (@TriciaMarwick) July 18, 2021
No, they aren’t and no they can’t.
The Lords is incapable of meaningful reform so long as the political parties use it for reward and patronage.
Abolish it.
She said she "absolutely" believed there would be a Scottish Tory First Minister one day.
She said: “I think the history of Scotland shows that every time people think a party has become a baked-in certainty, then it spectacularly collapse in on itself.
“I’ve always said the SNP will not be brought down by any single opposition party. They will be brought down by their own hubris.
“And I think we’re beginning to see that fight start now within the SNP. The pendulum might swing slowly in Scotland, but it swings pretty resoundingly.”
READ MORE: Ruth Davidson chooses her official title for House of Lords
In a statement this morning, Baroness Davidson added: "The job in the House of Lords is to scrutinise and amend legislation - basically, to make sure all UK-wide laws are fit for purpose.
“This is important work and it's vital that it is undertaken by a mix of people from all backgrounds and all parts of the country.
“As a teenage Modern Studies pupil, learning about politics at Buckhaven High School, I didn't believe that someone like me could ever have the chance to serve in not one, but two parliaments.
“I hope to take all of the experience I've gained over the last decade in Holyrood and put it to good use in my new role.
“I am keen to make a contribution in areas of importance to me such as gambling reform, end of life choices and the constitution, and pledge to work with members from all parties and none in reforming the House of Lords into a democratic chamber. "
Baroness Davidson is the fifth former Holyrood leader to go to the Lords after Labour FM Jack McConnell, Liberal Democrat leaders Jim Wallace and Nicol Stephen, and former Scottish Tory leader Annabel Goldie.
Former LibDem MSP Jeremy Purvis is also in the Lords, while three Labour MSPs have been Lords at the same time - Mike Watson, George Foulkes and Katy Clark.
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