Douglas Ross’ position as Scottish Tory leader is under threat after his party was hammered at the local council elections.
A Conservative MSP told the Record informal talks have already taken place about dumping Ross after the Conservatives lost dozens of councillors and second place to Labour.
The parliamentarian said Ross’ u-turn on the Prime Minister and partygate had been a disaster - and accused him of not being “empathetic” or “warm”.
They added: “He doesn't have a lot of built-up loyalty. He doesn’t do the rounds. He doesn’t touch base. He’s not a people person.
“He has just lost all credibility.”
The local authority results were a disaster for Ross after the SNP recorded a strong first place and Labour relegated the Tories to distant third.
On Ross’ watch the Conservatives lost over 60 seats - posting big losses in Glasgow and slumping to fifth place in Edinburgh behind the Greens.
In an interview with the BBC, Ross blamed the Prime Minister and the lockdown parties for the defeat.
He said the results were “very disappointing” and the public had sent a message to the Prime Minister “particularly around partygate”.
However, senior party figures insisted the Scottish Tory leader is himself culpable and his position untenable.
They point to him demanding Johnson’s resignation and then u-turning on the quit call as a credibility-sapping move.
An MSP said a senior party figure was already speaking to colleagues about replacing Ross.
The MSP said: “I don’t think he is safe. I think the result is confirmation of a failed strategy.
“He could have initially not put in a letter and simply castigated the Prime Minister. Having made his decision, he had to stick to it. It was a real lack of political judgement.
“He has gone from being someone who sees things as black or white, to not being black or white.
“His strategy has definitely given us the worst of both worlds. I would not be surprised if he resigns himself.”
The MSP also said Ross’ personality compounded the problem of a terrible election result.
“That [the result] is married to someone who is not empathetic or warm."
Another serving Tory MSP told the Record Ross made a big mistake in withdrawing his no-confidence letter in Johnson.
The MSP claimed that Ross only listens to advisers and needed to urgently improve his communication with colleagues.
Former Tory MSP Adam Tomkins also said: “Douglas Ross owns this, not Boris. It was Douglas who u-turned, Douglas who flipped, and Douglas who backed the PM. He and his team need to own the consequences, not pass the buck.”
A separate source said: “Morale is at an all time low. MSPs are very disillusioned with Douglas and his reliance on a core of advisers. The deflection to Boris is because of his risible positions on the PM, which change every fortnight.”
Another insider laid in to Ross by saying his leadership is in “trouble” and he would not “escape blame” in the way Davidson did in her early years as leader.
He said: “The party genuinely liked her. She’d earned their respect from a bruising leadership contest. And she had distance from Westminster.”
Davidson, who is now in the House of Lords, has continued to demand Jonson’s resignation, unlike Ross.
Tory MSPs named as potential leadership contenders in the event of Ross standing down include Jamie Greene, Stephen Kerr, Liam Kerr and Sandesh Gulhane.
Ross was also asked after the election drubbing if Johnson should resign despite the ongoing situation in Ukraine.
He said: “We are at a crucial stage. We know in the next few days that the Russians want to claim victory in their annual victory day.
“And we’ve got to do everything possible to support President (Volodymyr) Zelensky and the people of Ukraine, who have been able to defend their country for far longer than many of us expected.”
A Tory source said: “Douglas Ross' future is just as secure as it was last year, after he won 100,000 more votes than the party had ever won before.
“Douglas changed his position because of the first major war in Europe for decades, and that reason alone. Nobody saw that war coming except the intelligence services.
“Douglas Ross didn’t break Covid rules. He didn’t get a police fine. Tory voters didn’t turn out because of partygate, and we fully understand why. They rightly sent an angry message to Boris Johnson, not to Douglas Ross.”
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