Scottish Conservative leader says resigning

EDINBURGH: Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who turned her party's fortunes around in Scotland, said she was resigning on Thursday, a day after the government announced it was suspending parliament ahead of a Brexit deadline.

Davidson, who supported staying in the European Union in the 2016 referendum, said she was stepping down mainly to be with her new son and partner, but also mentioned "the conflict I have felt over Brexit" in a statement on Twitter.

Davidson, a charismatic politician who was once seen as a potential national leader of the Conservative Party, said she intended to remain a member of the Scottish Parliament.

Davidson has been a strong critic of a no-deal Brexit -- a prospect that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not ruled out if no agreement is reached with the EU by October 31.

She said she believed Johnson's assurances that he was trying to get a new deal with the European Union and urged parliamentary colleagues to approve it if he did so.

"Prime minister, get us a deal with the European Union," she told reporters in Edinburgh, adding that MPs should "for God's sake, get behind it".

"I stand foursquare behind the prime minister's attempts to bring back a deal," she said.