Victorious Moray MP Douglas Ross believes the time to debate SNP demands for another referendum on Europe is over – telling the country it is time to “move on”.
The Conservative candidate stemmed the tide of nationalist wins across Scotland to cling on to the seat he won in 2017, albeit with a vastly reduced majority.
Mr Ross admitted he thought he was “a goner” at one point amid some predictions that he had just 1% chance of winning.
The Conservatives poured resources into holding the seat – it was the only region Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited north of the border during the campaign.
Yesterday, Mr Ross admitted he had no idea what local or national factors had contributed to the win – but insisted the Conservative’s success across the UK showed it was time to settle the Brexit debate.
He said: “One thing people told us is they just want it done. People who voted leave or remain just wanted it completed and move on.
“The prime minister has said clearly if we get a decent majority then we can get it through and move on and leave by January 31.
“I’ve picked that up from people who voted leave and remain in Moray.
“People will say they don’t want to and want another referendum but I think with this clear Conservative majority we have to get Brexit sorted and move on.”
Despite the win, Mr Ross’s majority was slashed from 4,159 in 2017 to just 513.
SNP candidate Laura Mitchell pointed to growing “momentum” for the party in its attempts to reclaim its heartland seat, which it had previously had a 30-year stranglehold on.
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead described the surge of support from 18,478 votes in 2017 to 21,599 as a “remarkable result” for the party in a seat that delivered the highest proportion of Brexit votes in the 2016 referendum.
Ms Mitchell said: “We always knew Moray would be on a knife-edge and this result shows how far we pushed the Tories.
“It’s a shame we fell a bit short but overall there have been fantastic results for the SNP.”