The Tories will be “toast” in the General Election after a “complete disaster” of a campaign, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has predicted.
Flynn said that Douglas Ross’s decision to quit as Scottish Conservative leader after polling day on July 4 was the “icing on the cake” for the party.
Describing the election as “an opportunity for Scotland to do its bit in getting the Tories out,” Flynn said the SNP would be campaigning “every day” to defeat the Conservatives in the Scottish seats they hold.
The Tories won six seats in Scotland at the last Westminster election.
But in this contest, UK leader and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been forced to apologise for leaving D-Day commemorations early, while the party in Scotland now has to begin the hunt for a new leader.
Campaigning in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Flynn said: “The Tories are toast and this past week has confirmed it – their campaign has been a complete disaster and the Douglas Ross saga puts the icing on the cake.”
He added: “In every Conservative held seat in Scotland, it’s the SNP who stand ready to boot them out, and in seats like West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine voters have the chance to do exactly that.
“We know Labour Party HQ have thrown in the towel because they’ve diverted activists to the central belt and scrimped candidates together at the very last minute.
“In stark contrast, SNP candidates will be out every day taking our clear message to voters to remove the Tories.”
Flynn urged voters: “This General Election is an opportunity for Scotland to do its bit in getting the Tories out, but also to choose an alternative to Westminster austerity and Brexit.”
Andrew Bowie, the Tory candidate in West Aberdeenshire, said: "For once Stephen Flynn is right. In key seats like West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, it is a straight fight between the Scottish Conservatives and the SNP.
"I am standing on my record on having stood up for this area since 2017 and focusing on local people's priorities such as standing up for tens of thousands of jobs in the oil and gas sector, which the SNP have turned their backs on.
"If voters unite around myself as the Scottish Conservative candidate on July 4, they can beat the SNP, and ensure they have a local champion as their MP, rather than a nationalist MP who will only obsess about independence."
