SCOTTISH Conservative MP Andrew Bowie has quit as the vice chair of the Conservatives.
In a statement issued this morning, Mr Bowie said he was stepping back from the role to concentrate on his constituents.
It comes at a time when MPs have been under scrutiny for having second jobs or outside earnings away from their core job as an MP.
It also comes after Conservative MPs were left red-faced when their party u-turned on plans to change disciplinary rules for parliamentarians, despite whipping their party colleagues to support the plans less than 24 hours earlier.
Several Tory MPs told the Herald they were embarrassed and ashamed by the Government's behaviour last week.
Others publicly said so during a debate in the Commons on Monday.
However one Conservative source told The Herald Mr Bowie's decision was unrelated to the ongoing sleaze scandal, adding: "He wants to focus on his constituency, and the people who elected him.
"The speculation that he resigned because of the Owen Paterson affair is just nonsense, and those suggesting that don't know what they're talking about.
"His priority is his constituents."
Mr Bowie was first elected in 2017, and won his seat again in 2019 with a majority of just 843 votes.
READ MORE: Tory MP Geoffrey Cox earned £1m working for Caribbean tax haven during pandemic
The MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine said he came to the decision to step back "over the last few months".
He said: "I was honoured to serve as vice-chair of the Conservative and Unionist Party.
“However, over the last few months, I have come to the decision that I need to take a step back from the demands of the role to focus on representing my constituents in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine.
“I formally asked the Party yesterday if I could step back from my position and I will remain in post until they have found a successor.”
Mr Bowie is seen by some as a rising star within the party and a loyal supporter of No.10.
He was an ally of Theresa May under her Prime Ministership, working as her parliamentary private secretary.
Under Boris Johnson, Mr Bowie has continued to be loyal to the Government and has voted in favour of their position on every occasion, including in the controversial attempt to change the rules for investigating MP rule breaking last week.
However in the latest cabinet reshuffle Mr Bowie was passed over for a ministerial role, along with fellow Scottish Conservative John Lamont.
READ MORE: Scottish Tory MPs 'snubbed' by PM after vacancy left in Scotland Office
After the removal of David Duguid as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, Boris Johnson chose to appoint an unelected Tory donor to replace him.
Malcolm Offord, now Lord Offord of Garvel, was ennobled in October.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel