Ruth Davidson named one of 2018’s most influential people by Time Magazine

RUTH DAVIDSON has said she is “extremely honoured” to be named as one of 2018’s most influential people by Time magazine.

The Scottish Conservative leader made the cut alongside the likes of US President Donald Trump, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Also recognised in the magazine’s annual list are actor Nicole Kidman, singer Jennifer Lopez and the Florida students who have been campaigning for gun control following the school shooting in Parkland earlier this year.

A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: “Ruth’s extremely honoured to be included on such a list.

“And while she’s flattered to receive an accolade from across the Atlantic, her full focus remains on her job here in Scotland.”

A profile of Ms Davidson for the magazine written by historian Niall Ferguson said: “There was a time when the Conservative Party looked as dead as a dodo in Scotland.

“Having won majorities of Scottish votes in the 1950s, the Tories seemed to have gone extinct by 1997, when not a single one of their candidates won in Scotland.

“The party’s resurrection – it won 31 seats in the Scottish Parliament in 2016 and 29% of the Scottish vote in last year’s UK general election – owes much to the refreshing, rambunctious style of Ruth Davidson.

“Could she be a future British Prime Minister, succeeding the beleaguered Theresa May? ‘I love London,’ she has said. ‘No plans to move there myself, but great to visit’.

“Many voters south of the border would love her to reconsider.”