Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party McLetchie became
Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party upon the creation of the
Scottish Parliament in
1999, having been elected in the
1998 Scottish Conservative Party leadership election. He was forced to resign as Scottish Conservative leader following a scandal over his
expense claims in 2005.
Resignation McLetchie announced his resignation as Scottish Conservative Party leader on 31 October 2005, after it was revealed he had spent £11,500 of taxpayers' money on taxi fares, more than any other MSP. The problem was not so much the large bill, but that he had used taxis for Conservative
party business (as opposed to
constituency business). His successor as leader was
Annabel Goldie.
Backbencher McLetchie was elected as an
additional member for the
Lothians region in 1999 and the
Edinburgh Pentlands constituency in 2003. Following his resignation as leader, he had a short spell as a backbencher in the Parliament though he remained a prominent figure, his major successes from this period include his campaigns on free personal care and road pricing. McLetchie was re-elected in Edinburgh Pentlands in 2007 with an increased share of the vote and his majority doubled. On his return, he was made Conservative Chief Whip and business manager, a role which was set to be more important than ever before; given the
minority SNP administration. However, he lost his seat to Gordon MacDonald of the
SNP in 2011. Although not re-elected in Pentlands, he was returned to Parliament as a "list" MSP for the
Lothian region. == Personal life ==