DOUGLAS Ross has been urged to stand down as an MP before he runs for Holyrood to spare taxpayers the cost of a stand-alone byelection.

The SNP said the Scottish Tory leader should quit as the MP for Moray so any vacancy can be filled at minimal expense on the same day as the Holyrood election.

Mr Ross, who became Scottish Tory leader last August, was briefly an MSP until swapping Holyrood for Westminster at the 2017 general election. 

He now plans to return to the Scottish Parliament  on May 6 via the North East regional list.

Neil Gray, the SNP MP for Airdrie & Shotts, is also planning to move from London to Edinburgh in May, by standing in the equivalent Holyrood constituency.

Under internal SNP rules, he was forced to step down as an MP first. 

There is no legal barrier to Mr Ross being both an MP and an MSP at the same time.

READ MORE: SNP apply to have 'IndyRef2' put on ballot paper in May's election

However Richard Lochhead, the SNP MSP for Moray, said Mr Ross should quit to avoid a later byelection which could cost the public purse up to £175,000.

He said: “I am urging Douglas Ross to resign from the UK Parliament to allow a by-election to take place on the same day as the Scottish Parliament elections.

"This will ensure Moray can have a full-time voice in Westminster and potentially save the taxpayer an estimated £175,000.

“The talk is that Mr Ross is only standing on the list so when his party flops at May’s election he can be more easily replaced as a list MSP, letting him scuttle off back to Westminster as an MP.

“Many of his constituents are struggling and as the country looks to recover from the pandemic, Douglas Ross needs to put his full focus into being either an MSP or an MP.

“The days of dual mandates should be consigned to history.

"The Scottish Parliament has more powers than before and has much to do to help Scotland recover from a pandemic and fall out from Brexit. Being an MSP is already a demanding full-time job - never mind being a party leader at the same time - and so is being an MP. 

“Any MSP will tell you that their current workload has never been bigger due to the pandemic.

“Neil Gray, MP for Airdrie and Shotts, is resigning his seat in time to have the by-election on 6th May.

"Mr Ross’s own Tory colleague John Lamont resigned his Holyrood seat in 2017 to have the by-election on the same day at the UK elections that year. Douglas Ross needs to follow their example for the sake of Moray.”

READ MORE: MSPs standing down from Holyrood to get ‘golden goodbye’ payments totalling £1.5m

A Scottish Conservative spokesman said: "Voters have become wise to the desperate distraction tactics of Nicola Sturgeon's sleaze-infested SNP while the Scottish Conservatives focus on blocking another damaging referendum and rebuilding after the pandemic."