Ruth Davidson

Ruth Davidson is a journalist, author, broadcaster, and politician who served for eight years as the leader of the Scottish Conservative Party. During her time, she revitalised the party, leading it to its best electoral appearance for over 35 years.

She played a key role in the EU referendum and Scottish independent campaigns, arguing her case in live television debates from the Glasgow Hydro and Wembley Arena.

As the first openly gay leader of a major UK political party, and the first leader to give birth while in office, Ruth has consistently broken barriers in public life.

A former journalist and Territorial Army soldier, Ruth understands the importance of individual expression, trust, and leadership development. She regularly contributes to debates on gender, equality, and inclusion, as well as authentic leadership. Her close relationships with Prime Ministers and her membership in the UK Cabinet provide her with a unique insight into the political landscape across the UK.

She was one named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential people of the year, alongside figures like New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Contact Great British Speakers today to book Scottish journalist, author, broadcaster, and politician Ruth Davidson to host your next event.

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Before she started working in politics, Ruth Davidson had a career in journalism, working as a presenter, producer, and documentary maker. After graduating, she joined the Glenrothes Gazette as a trainee reporter, before moving to Kingdom FM, Real Radio, and finally BBC Scotland, where she stayed from 2002 to 2009. During this time, she also served as a signaller in the 32 Signal Regiment of the Territorial Army before a suffering a back injury in a training exercise.

She joined the Conservative Party in 2009, working as the Head of the Private Office of the then-Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie, as well as unsuccessfully standing for seats in 2009 and 2010. But she was elected in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, being named the spokesperson for culture, Europe, and external relations.

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But in late 2011, she won the leadership election, becoming the new leader of the Scottish Conservative Party. Throughout her time as leader she handled issues such as Scottish independence bid, Brexit, same-sex marriage, and the economy. She stepped down from the party in August 2019, citing political and personal reasons.

In 2021, she entered the House of Lords as Baroness Davison of Lundin Links; during her time she has given opinions on the assisted dying bill, the reduction of troop numbers in the British Army, and the scheme to deport asylum seeks to Rwanda.

Since she stepped down as party leader, Ruth has returned to her first love of journalism, regularly contributing to The Mail on Sunday, The Telegraph, and The Evening Standard. She is often involved with broadcast projects for TV and radio – including hosting the Channel 4 documentary Football’s Gambling Addiction (2021) – hosts a weekly show on Times Radio, and co-hosts Sky’s Electoral Dysfunction Podcast alongside Jess Phillips and Beth Rigby.

She has made appearances on The One Show (2018), Have I Got News For You (2015-24), The Chase (2019), Lorraine (2019), Question Time (2012-17), and The Great Celebrity Bake Off For SU2C (2019).

In 2018 she published her book Yes She Can – Why Women Own the Future, a positive look at global gender advancement, highlighting how far women have come in achieving equality, and the challenges that still remain.

Outside of politics, she is a non-executive director on the board of Royal London Mutual, and a non-executive director on the board of the Scottish Rugby Union.

LGBTQ+

In 2015, Ruth appeared in a party election broadcast in which she was seen with her same-sex partner Jen. They got engaged in 2016 and had their first child in 2018. She has publicly spoken about struggling with her sexuality:

“I struggled with it for a number of years actually before I would admit it to myself, never mind to anybody else. But there comes a point at which you make a decision and that decision is either that you’re going to live a lie for the rest of your life, or you’re going to trust yourself.”

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