Humza Yousaf is hoping to create a “Tory-free Scotland” in his election campaign even as the SNP is hammered in the polls. The First Minister is expected to make the call at the launch of his General Election campaign this morning.
However, his party has been wracked by controversial policy, an investigation into its finances and the resignation of his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon.
There are currently seven Tory MPs in Scotland, all targeted by the SNP to win over voters, with one already standing down.
The SNP are believed to be confident they can win Douglas Ross’s current seat in Moray, as the Scottish Tory leader leaves his post.
They will also be targeting other seats in the North East and Scottish Borders currently held by Conservatives.
Mr Yousaf is expected to say at today’s event: “Today I want to tell you how, together, we can get the best outcome for the country. The first step we take towards a brighter future must be to kick the Tories out.
“Let’s be absolutely clear here: Rishi Sunak is finished. The Tories are done – thank goodness. The damage they have caused to Scotland is unforgivable and this year we must take the opportunity to kick them out of Scotland completely.”
He will add that the SNP is “by far” the best-placed party to remove the Tories from Scotland. In each of the Conservative seats up for grabs, the SNP is believed to be coming in second place.
“Today I am setting an ambition for the SNP to wipe the Tories from Scotland’s electoral map by winning all six of those Tory seats,” Yousaf is set to say. “That is a big ask, but I don’t believe you go into elections unless you are willing to be ambitious.
“It’s also the case that in more than half of the SNP-held seats, it is the Tories who are in second place. So, to people right across the country, our message will be very clear: vote SNP for a Tory-free Scotland.”
The General Election is not expected to be held until the “second half” of this year. Rishi Sunak said it was his “working assumption” that this would be the appropriate time. Incoming boundary changes will reduce the number of contested seats in Scotland to 57, rather than 59.
Mr Ross’s current seat will see some changes and take in additional areas of Inverness, Nairn, and Badenoch. It will also take in the Strathspey constituency that has been held by the SNP for nine years.
Mr Yousaf has vowed that a vote for the SNP is a “vote for Scottish independence” on the first line of the party’s manifesto.
Scottish Labour – a Unionist party – could be a threat to the SNP however, as polls show a boost in support for this contender to Holyrood.
A November poll by Stonehaven found the SNP is on course to lose up to 33 of the 48 seats it won at the 2019 general election in this year’s contest. Bookmakers are also predicting Mr Yousaf is odds-on to be replaced as First Minister this year.
Craig Hoy, the Scottish Tory chairman, said: “The Scottish public are sick and tired of the independence-obsessed SNP ignoring their real priorities.
“Voters know that the only way to shift the focus onto the issues that matter to them – and shut the door on Humza Yousaf’s independence plan for good – is to unseat SNP MPs. And, as Humza Yousaf points out, in swathes of constituencies across the country, only the Scottish Conservatives can do that.”
