Ruth Davidson: Scottish Conservative leader announces engagement to her girlfriend

'I’ve been away for a few days as I had an important question to ask,' says Davidson

The news follows Ms Davidson’s recent rise to victory iIn the local elections where she pushed Labour into third place in Scotland (Getty)

The leader of the Scottish Conservative party Ruth Davidson has announced her engagement to her girlfriend Jen Wilson.

The 37-year-old politician, who is tipped to be a potential successor to David Cameron, proposed to her while the pair were away for the weekend.

“I’ve been away for a few days as I had an important question to ask,” she wrote, unveiling the news via Twitter. “Delighted Jen said yes. Very happy”.

The news follows Ms Davidson’s recent rise to victory in the local elections where she pushed Labour into third place in Scotland and made the Conservative party the official opposition party to the SNP. As well as taking the Edinburgh Central Seat from the hands of the SNP, she won 31 seats and increased the Conservative party’s vote share by 8.1 per cent.

Her fiance Ms Wilson is from Wexford in Ireland and is a marketing assistant to a green energy charity. She kept a low profile until the couple appeared together in a Scottish Tory election broadcast in February.

Messages of congratulation for the couple have poured in on social media, with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, commending the pair and a number of fellow MPs wishing them good luck.

Mr Osborne wrote, "Congratulations Ruth. Brilliant news x", while Peter Grant, the MP for Glenrothes & Central Fife wrote, "Congratulations!".

Ms Davidson has frequently been open about her sexuality in the past. As a practicing christian, she struggled to come to terms with her sexuality for years.

“I thought I was destined for the big white wedding and the chap on my arm and all the rest of it, and then it wasn't to be,” she told BBC Radio Scotland’s Stark Talk. “I didn't come out until my mid-twenties. I'd known for a few years before that.”

“It took time for me to come to some sort of peace with myself about it. It's something I struggled with. I didn't want to be gay – I'm not sure how many people do, and it's been amazing the difference even in my lifetime how things have changed.”