THE BBC’s Newsnight programme failed to cover Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw’s resignation last night.
The show says it reports on “the day's important national and international news stories” – but Carlaw failed to make the cut after stepping down yesterday afternoon.
Greater Manchester’s new coronavirus restrictions, the logistics of localised lockdowns, and rising crime in the US city of Chicago were the focus of the episode.
The BBC has been contacted for comment.
READ MORE: Jackson Carlaw quits after just five months as Scottish Tory leader
In a statement yesterday evening, Carlaw said he had reached the “simple if painful conclusion” that he was not up to the job of leading the Scottish Tories into the 2021 election.
Senior Tory sources insisted Carlaw’s goodbye had nothing to do with Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings but rather was a result of the Holyrood group’s unhappiness with his performance.
Within minutes of Carlaw’s announcement, there were rumours that Moray MP Douglas Ross was the favourite to replace him.
The MP, who met with Johnson in his constituency last week, quit as Scotland Office minister earlier this year during the row over Cummings’s lockdown trip to Durham.
Carlaw stepped down after polls put support for Scottish independence on 54%, and suggested his party is on track for losses at next year’s election.
READ MORE: Michelle Ballantyne furious as she admits Jackson Carlaw was pushed
YouGov polling, reported by The Times, showed that 48% of Scottish voters could not identify Carlaw. Of those that could just 10% reported a favourable view of him.
Now his predecessor Ruth Davidson will step in to represent the Scottish Tories at FMQs until a new leader is elected.
Last night there was drama in the party as Tory MSP and former leadership contender Michelle Ballantyne appeared on the BBC’s The Nine to say Carlaw was “pushed” out of his role.
She said she believed it “was Westminster that pushed him” but was “happy he’s gone”.
The MSP added she hasn’t decided if she will run for leadership but is “really angry if basically we are seeing exactly the same thing as we saw in January where the party high heidyins make a decision and they foist it on everybody else”.
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