Ruth Davidson has been nominated by Boris Johnson for a seat in the House of Lords alongside former Chancellors Ken Clarke and Philip Hammond, it has emerged.

The ex-Scottish Conservative leader stepped down from the leadership role in August after almost eight years. This followed her becoming a mother to Finn. At the time, she described herself as “an ex-journalist and soon to be ex politician”.

The Edinburgh Central MSP is set to stand down at the 2021 Holyrood election but, if she becomes a peer, could depart from the Scottish Parliament earlier and spark a by-election; or she could hold a dual mandate until next spring.

READ MORE: Scottish Tory leadership fight gets personal as insults fly

The 41-year-old politician is poised to join her predecessor in the Scottish Tory leader role, Baroness Goldie, who is a Defence Minister.

While her elevation would leave open the possibility of Ms Davidson being made a minister by Mr Johnson given their differences this may be unlikely, in the short term at least.

Like Lords Clarke and Hammond, who had the Conservative whip withdrawn last year for attempting to block a no-deal Brexit, Ms Davidson has clashed with the Prime Minister over Britain’s departure from the EU; all three were prominent Remainers.

Last autumn, Ms Davidson caused controversy after accepting a public relations role for lobbying firm Tulchan Communications while retaining her job as an MSP. Her proposed salary, suggested to be £50,000 for 25 days' work, would have been on top of her £63,000-a-year MSP's salary.

However, just days later, she abandoned taking up of the role after meeting with parliamentary officials although she was adamant there was no conflict of interest.

Peers can claim an allowance of up to £313 a day for attending the Lords.

While the two Westminster grandees have now stood down as MPs, they have continued to be critical of the Prime Minister's policies.

READ MORE: Ruth Davidson quits £50,000 job with lobbying firm

Mr Johnson is believed to have also put forward two former Labour MPs - Iain Austin and John Woodcock - to sit as crossbench peers. They were arch-critics of Jeremy Corbyn during his leadership and eventually quit the Labour party, campaigning in the general election to keep him out of Downing St.

However, the nomination and vetting process for new peers is not yet complete.

Neither No 10 nor the House of Lords Appointments Commission, which vets nominations, would comment on the Dissolution Honours List.