General Election 2015: Leader of Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson says she has no interest in taking over from David Cameron

Ms Davidson said she already had 'a big job' to do in restoring the credibility of the Tories in Scotland after '20 years of stagnation and decline'

Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson campaigning in Edinburgh (Getty Images)

Ruth Davidson has said she has no interest in taking over from David Cameron as the next leader of the Conservative Party, describing the role as “one of the loneliest jobs around”.

The leader of the Scottish Conservatives, who has risen to national prominence during the general election campaign thanks partly to her performances during the televised debates, was tipped by the Prime Minister as his potential successor.

But Ms Davidson said she already had “a big job” to do in restoring the credibility of the Tories in Scotland after “20 years of stagnation and decline”, a task she said would take her at least another five years.

“There’s not a vacancy and certainly not one that I’m interested in,” she said of the Tory leadership. “I think leading any national UK party is possibly one of the loneliest jobs around. I’m quite happy where I am. I have plenty of things I want to accomplish both in and out of public life, but I have to say leading the Conservative Party has never been one of them.”

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The 36-year-old, who is state-educated and whose parents both grew up on Glasgow council estates, said there were plenty of other Tories in the Westminster party with “similar backgrounds” to herself, naming Sajid Javid, Stephen Crabb and Justine Greening as examples.

“Sajid’s dad came here with a pound in his pocket, quite famously, and he grew up above a shop in Bristol. Stephen Crabb came off a housing estate in Cardiff, Justine Greening off a housing estate in Rotherham. This idea that we’ve all had a gilded youth just isn’t borne out by the facts,” she said.

However, she refused to be drawn on whether she would prefer to see a candidate with a less privileged background installed as Tory leader over Boris Johnson, George Osborne or Theresa May, all of whom have been tipped as possible replacements for Mr Cameron.

Ruth Davidson with the Prime Minister in Glasgow earlier this month (Getty) (Getty Images)

That Ms Davidson’s name is even being mentioned as a possible Tory leadership contender is a sign of how far her star has risen. Asked yesterday on the BBC’s Woman’s Hour whether he saw her as someone who may succeed him, Mr Cameron replied: “Well indeed. I don’t put a limit on her ambition, I think she is extremely effective.”

Her political opponents have privately acknowledged that she found her “passion and voice” arguing against Scottish independence last year, while in the past few weeks she has earned plaudits for her assured performances on the televised election debates. She has even been described as “Scotland’s Iron Lady” – a moniker she could probably do without.

Ms Davidson has had a varied career, serving as a signaller in the Territorial Army and spending years as a broadcast journalist. She has spoken of her irritation at the media’s obsession with her sexuality, saying that during the Tory leadership campaign she was often described as “the lesbian kickboxer”. But her background could also explain why voters have warmed to her.

Earlier this week, research by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft found that even Scots who have no intention of voting Conservative – the party still only has one MP north of the border – have warmed to Ms Davidson and compared her favourably with Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy.

“In the debates she was strong. She gave as good as she got from Nicola Sturgeon,” said one. “She was excellent – genuine and conducts herself well. But I could never vote for her policies,” said another. “The thing about her is that she’s true to what she believes in, so I respect her. Whereas with Jim Murphy, you never really know.”

Asked whether she found such views frustrating, Ms Davidson said: “If people like what I’m saying, maybe they just haven’t recognised yet that they’ve got Conservative values as well. Perhaps for some people it’ll be over time, for other people the Damascene conversion will happen quicker.”

Known for her colourful photo opportunities along the campaign trail, Ms Davidson yesterday chose the unlikely venue of a near-deserted Mecca Bingo hall in Edinburgh to push the Tory message on pensions, trying her hand at calling out the numbers.

But she also had a message for her own party’s leadership, suggesting that the Conservatives must be clearer about why they are spending so much time talking about their record on the economy and relate the figures back to people’s everyday struggles.

“My job is to explain to people not just what we want to see, but why we want to see it and why it works,” she said. “I think sometimes that’s what’s been missing – not just in our party but in all parties. Sometimes politicians can seem like accountants with a megaphone, just shouting numbers at people. Numbers are important, but it’s not just about that, it’s about lives.”