THE Tories have been accused of running a “failing” council election campaign as the party increasingly makes Ruth Davidson the face of its pitch to voters.
SNP MP Pete Wishart criticised the Conservatives for “drafting in an unelected Tory Baroness to give it some electoral credibility”.
Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links has more and more become a prominent figure in the Tories' council election campaign.
It comes as a recent Panelbase poll suggested Douglas Ross’s party is set to be pushed into third place by Labour.
Election expert John Curtice said the findings suggest the Tory leader may face a “serious challenge” from Labour.
Perth and North Perthshire MP Pete Wishart said Ross is now seen as a “liability and a burden” to the party.
Wishart told The National: "It tells you everything you need to know about this failing Tory campaign that they need to draft in an unelected Tory Baroness to give it some electoral credibility.
“Douglas Ross is now seen as a liability and burden to the cause of Scots Toryism because of the embarrassing flip flop of backing the Prime Minister after rightly saying he should go over partygate.
“Unfortunately for the Scots Tories they will be forever tied with their UK Prime Minister, whoever they put on their posters and leaflets".
The MP also replied to a Tory election poster with Davidson's picture on it, saying: “‘Vote Ruth Davidson’s Scottish Conservatives. No one else’s. Certainly not he who can no longer be mentioned …’ Fantastic.”
‘Vote Ruth Davidson’s Scottish Conservatives. No one else’s. Certainly not he who can no longer be mentioned…’ Fantastic. pic.twitter.com/vdywpRn3ap
— Pete Wishart (@PeteWishart) May 2, 2022
The former leader has become a high-profile campaigner in recent days as the Thursday council vote approaches, with mention of Davidson significantly increasing on the party's social media.
The Scottish Tory Twitter account alone shared posts mentioning Davidson 17 times in just the past two days.
Davidson has been urging pro-Union voters to give the Tories their vote, saying Nicola Sturgeon is treating Scots as “fools” over the ferries scandal.
She said: “The failing record of Nicola Sturgeon and her candidates is on the ballot paper this Thursday.
On Thursday, let's make sure it's pro-Union candidates smiling and not Nicola Sturgeon's candidates. Send her a deafening pro-UK message on behalf of your local community by voting @ScotTories. #LocalVoteTory pic.twitter.com/k6oAqKPmdo
— Scottish Conservatives (@ScotTories) May 2, 2022
“They’ve left Glasgow filthier than ever before. They’ve left drug deaths to spiral in Dundee. They’ve got plans to make it unbelievably expensive to drive to work in our capital city.
“Don’t reward the SNP for failure. Get out to the polls on Thursday and teach them a lesson."
