9 May 2017

The alliance of pro-independence parties has been accused of desperation, after the Greens confirmed they wouldn’t bother fighting the General Election in a key Scottish seat.

The party – which has been ordered by the SNP to stand aside in close constituencies – won’t field a candidate in Moray, the seat currently held by Angus Robertson.

Projections show the SNP deputy leader could lose the seat to Scottish Conservative candidate Douglas Ross, with the recent council election suggesting the nationalists are trailing in second place.

Last week, SNP MP Tommy Sheppard urged the Greens to step aside or risk splitting the pro-independence vote.

Now the Greens appear to have bowed down to that request by confirming no candidate will stand.

Scottish Conservative Moray candidate Douglas Ross said:

“This decision by the Greens smacks of desperation; they will do anything to prop up the SNP and hang on their shirt tails.

“People will find it hard to believe them when they say they won’t be backing any particular candidate.

“When it comes down to it they will be backing the SNP all the way as we see time and again in the Scottish Parliament.

“The SNP has successfully bossed the Greens about – and that shows just how worried the party is about losing the seat in Moray.

“While the local Greens have tried to justify why they are not standing, this announcement comes just two weeks after the SNP’s Tommy Sheppard asked them not to stand and split the pro-Yes vote.

“If you don’t want another independence referendum, this is your only chance to make that clear. Only a vote for the Scottish Conservatives on June 8 can send a clear message to the SNP in Moray.

“Here in Moray, we will be running a positive campaign so people know what we stand for, rather than running in support of another negative and divisive independence referendum.”

Confirmation of the Greens’ decision is here:
http://www.insidemoray.com/ross-attacks-green-decision-not-to-run-for-westminster-seat/

8 May 2017

Ruth Davidson has launched the Scottish Conservative General Election campaign in Edinburgh.

At the launch she will say that voters can use their vote to bring the SNP down to size, with the Scottish Conservatives the only party capable of leading the fightback against the nationalists.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said:

“I’m setting everybody a challenge today.

“Just as we doubled our numbers of MSPs last year, and doubled our number of councillors last week, we now we have to double our efforts over these next four and a half weeks.

“Because we have a massive fight on our hands against an all-powerful SNP.

“We go into this election with one seat. They go into with 54 – and most of them with large majorities.

“Even to challenge the Nationalists in some of these seats is going to take a Herculean effort.

“Make no mistake – we are the underdogs going into this campaign.

“But we also know this.

“The SNP is not Scotland.

“And people across this country don’t take kindly to Nicola Sturgeon pretending the opposite is true.

“Across Scotland, it’s a two-horse race.

“And across Scotland, we also know people are looking for somebody to stand up to the SNP.

“So our challenge is this

“It’s to bring the SNP down to size.

“To show they can’t take Scotland for granted.

“To show that we, the Scottish Conservatives, can lead Scotland’s fightback against the SNP.”

6 May 2017

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson is in Inverurie today to take the party’s fightback to the Gordon constituency.

The party’s strong result in the local government elections yesterday included beating the SNP in Gordon, meaning it is a two horse race for the seat in June’s General Election.

Similarly good results in seats such as Aberdeen South, Moray, Stirling and Edinburgh South West have meant that many voters across Scotland will face a clear choice between the Scottish Conservatives and the SNP on June 8^th.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said:

“This week’s local government election has shown we are the only party in Scotland with the strength to fight back against the SNP – in every part of Scotland.

“We won the local government election is Gordon this week, beating the SNP into second place. It means that in this seat, as in many others, it is a two horse race between us and the Nationalists.

“As is the case right across Scotland, the choice in Gordon is clear.

“It’s between a Scottish National Party that will to take us back to more division and instability, and a Scottish Conservative party that will fight against another referendum so we can all move on together.”

3 May 2017

The Scottish Conservatives have called on the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government to investigate a Scottish Government announcement of an £8 million investment for Glasgow just two days before the local council election.

Official guidance states that Civil Servants in the Scottish Government should take ‘particular care’ over ‘official support, and the use of public resources, including publicity, for Ministerial or official announcements which could have a bearing on matters relevant to the local elections. In some cases, it might be better to defer an announcement until after the elections’.

It says “particular care” should be taken in the three week period before the elections.

The Scottish Government announced £8.35million of funding for redevelopment in Glasgow – a key SNP target area in the local authority elections – late on Tuesday.

Ross Thomson, the party’s General Election candidate in Aberdeen South, questioned the motives behind the announcement.

He has written to Leslie Evans, Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government, requesting an investigation into the propriety of the timing.

Scottish Conservative candidate for Aberdeen South, Ross Thomson said: 

“This looks like a blatant attempt to sway voters in an area that is being targeted by the SNP.

“I have written to the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government asking for an explanation as to how this could be announced just 48 hours before voters go to the polls.

“People need to have absolute confidence that public money is not being used for party political ends.”

The letter from Ross to the Permanent Secretary can be found here.

Guidance found here.

Nicola Sturgeon has said: ‘In the council elections next May, let’s work as hard as we ever have to bring the SNP to power…Glasgow is a vivid illustration of the success of our party’ (Speech to SNP Conference, 15 October 2016, link).

Susan Aitken, the SNP Group Leader in Glasgow, has also said: ‘We think we are on track to achieve our target of at the least being the biggest party [in Glasgow] and I think we may well have an overall majority within our grasp. Winning in Glasgow would definitely help us ahead of the general election’ (The Scotsman, 30 April 2017, link).

3 May 2017

Kezia Dugdale has been told to act on her independence-supporting election candidates, after it emerged another aspiring MP is sympathetic to the break-up of Britain.

Labour’s position on the union has already come under fire this week with candidates in pro-UK seats in the south of Scotland being revealed as separation sympathisers.

Now details have come out about Moray candidate Jo Kirby, who also appears to back independence.

She has shared a number of pro-SNP items on social media, including an article describing the SNP as “the most credible political force in the UK” and a speech by Angus Robertson – who she’ll stand against in Moray – endorsing holding a second independence referendum.

Yesterday, Labour’s candidate for the Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire by-election at Holyrood, Sally Prentice, claimed she was the person to stand up to the SNP on a “divisive” referendum re-run.

But just the week before, she said: “SNP voters – the only way you’re going to get to ask the question again is if Jeremy Corbyn is in number 10.”

In addition, it was reported yesterday that Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale candidate Douglas Beattie was “gutted” following the 2014 referendum result.

Now, the Scottish Conservatives have urged Ms Dugdale to either remove the candidates from the upcoming election, or face accusations of not being in control of her own party.

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said:

“Kezia Dugdale can’t reasonably say she’s serious about Scotland’s place in the UK while she stands by these independence-supporting candidates.

“She must either sack them, or admit she has next to no control over her own party.

“This goes beyond just a bit of embarrassment for Labour.

“The candidate for the Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire by-election is actually lying to voters by claiming to be the one to stand up to the SNP, while on social media she’s telling all her friends the precise opposite.

“These revelations go to show once again that it’s only the Scottish Conservatives who can be trusted on keeping Scotland a key part of the UK.”

Yesterday, two Labour General Election candidates were unmasked as independence supporters:
http://www.scottishconservatives.com/2017/05/labour-candidate-to-snp-voters-back-us-and-well-deliver-indyref2/
http://www.scottishconservatives.com/2017/05/revealed-the-labour-general-election-candidate-who-backs-separation/

And today, a third has been revealed as an SNP sympathiser:

• Jo Kirby shared a graphic promoting SNP policy on EU membership (Jo Kirby Facebook, 24 June 2016, link).

• Kirby promoted an article describing the SNP as the ‘most credible political force in the UK’ (Jo Kirby Facebook, 26 June 2016, link).

• Kirby shared propaganda from a campaign for independence. The post lauded Scots for ‘basing their nationality on civic rather than ethnic identity’ (Jo Kirby Facebook, 30 June 2016, link).

• Jo Kirby shared a speech by Angus Robertson which endorsed holding a second independence referendum. Kirby shared the speech, in which Robertson said: ‘We have no intention whatsoever of seeing Scotland taken out of Europe. That would be totally, totally democratically unacceptable. We are a European country and we will stay a European country. And if it means we have to have an independence referendum to protect Scotland’s place, then so be it’ (Jo Kirby Facebook, 28 June 2016, link).