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.

If she becomes a peer, the 41-year-old politician would join on the red benches her predecessor in the Scottish Tory leader role, Baroness Goldie, a Defence Minister.

While her elevation would leave open the possibility of Ms Davidson being made a minister by Mr Johnson, given their deep differences, this would be highly unlikely.

Like Lords Clarke and Hammond, who had the Conservative whip withdrawn last year for attempting to block a no-deal Brexit, Ms Davidson has clashed with the Prime Minister over Britain’s departure from the EU; all three were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 at a lobbying firm. Her proposed £50,000 salary would have been on top of her £63,000-a-year MSP's wage.

However, she abandoned the role after meeting with parliamentary officials but maintained there was no conflict of interest.

Peers can claim an allowance of around £300 a day for attending the Lords.

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 Labour, 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.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, said no one would object to the award of a peerage to Mr Clarke, whom he described as a “great British politician whose record of service is unparalleled”.

But the Scot suggested Brexiteers would raise an eyebrow at the elevation of Mr Hammond, who played such a prominent role in frustrating the PM in his drive towards Brexit.

However, Sir Iain noted that this was “rightly” part of the drive to bring Britain back together following Brexit.

He added: “I hope Philip reciprocates this characteristically generous gesture from Boris by now supporting him in the House of Lords."