RUTH Davidson admitted that she had recently contemplated quitting Holyrood, as she launched her comeback to the political front line.

The Scottish Tory leader told a business event at her party conference that she wondered if she would remain an MSP while on maternity leave.

Her comments came as a succession of senior Tories backed Davidson to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland’s next leader.

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Davidson has sparked a revival in Scottish Tory fortunes after her party endured decades of poor results at the ballot box.

The Edinburgh Central MSP has been on maternity leave for six months and returned to the political front line this weekend for her party’s conference in Aberdeen. A key theme was the promotion of her as a candidate to replace Sturgeon at the 2021 Holyrood election.

Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: “The greatest service we can do for Scotland is to make her First Minister in 2021.”

David Mundell, the Scotland Secretary, said “we want Ruth Davidson to be First Minister,” while MSPs Michelle Ballantyne and Jamie Greene tipped her for Bute House.

However, in her introduction at an enterprise fringe event on Friday, during which she addressed Brexit, Davidson said she had considered not returning to the Scottish Parliament. In comments recorded by the Herald on Sunday, she said: “Now, I’ve been out of Holyrood for the last six months, and, you know, sometimes I wondered if I was going to be coming back.”

She added: “But if you take a step back, one of the big issues that we’ve had isn’t just affecting us there. It’s affecting the whole of the UK.

“And Brexit does seem even more exhausting when you’re watching it when you’re a direct participant in it.”

In the past, Davidson has been tipped as a future Prime Minister, but she recently ruled out making a move to Westminster.

Her comments came after the Conservatives fuelled rumours - denied by Sturgeon - that the First Minister is interested in a job at the United Nations. Jackson Carlaw, Davidson’s deputy, said the First Minister was “polishing up her CV.”

In her conference speech yesterday, Davidson made her pitch to be the next first minister by pledging to bring about a "blue collar revolution" that would get the country "on the right track".

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Closing the conference, Davidson said: "As first minister, I won't use every engagement with the UK Government as a chance to sow division. I'll use it as a chance to deliver better government for the people who live here.

"And I'll make a firm guarantee now: If I am elected Scotland's next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda. We've had enough to last a lifetime."

She told party activists: "I'm back because I want to put Scotland's constitutional division aside, to allow the country to come back together again.

"I want us to become the largest party in 2021 so we can see all the effort and hours and manpower the current nationalist administration puts into Indyref2 being put into improving our schools, growing our economy and supporting our services.

"I'm back because I want us to build a better Scotland - right here, right now.

"That election is still two years away but today it's time we fire the starting gun on the campaign."

The Scottish Tory leader said the choice voters would face in 2021 would be between another SNP government “banging on about independence" and a Conservative administration that would offer a "brighter horizon".

She pledged a new approach to vocational education and plans to ensure teenagers stay in education until at least 18 - or otherwise take up a "structured apprenticeship" or training place if they want to go in work.

Davidson also said the "greatest service we can do to our nation" would be "bringing down the curtain on 14 years of SNP grudge and grievance".

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In an earlier speech, Gove, who may be a candidate in any contest to succeed Theresa May as leader of the UK Conservatives, said: “As First Minister, I know that Ruth Davidson would ensure that schools got the money and the teachers they need, that there would be a relentless focus on improving standards and that headteachers would have the powers they need to enforce effective discipline and help children flourish.”

SNP depute leader Keith Brown said: "Brexit is exhausting, but so is a Tory government which has ignored Scotland’s wishes to remain in the EU.

"It is Theresa May’s Tories who are doing this damage to Scotland - no-one else.

"The hypocrisy of the Tories in Scotland hasn't been lost on voters, as we see in recent polls. It's clearer than ever that the Tories are ready to sell-out Scotland."