DOUGLAS Ross is urging voters to “knock the nats down to size” in May’s council elections, insisting the SNP are “beatable”.
The Scottish Conservative leader’s rallying cry comes on the same day a new poll put Nicola Sturgeon’s party on course for record-breaking results – and suggested Labour will win more votes than the Tories.
With a month to go to polling day, Ross made a plea to voters to use the ballot to “get rid of SNP councillors who don’t deliver local action because they’re fixated on their nationalist obsession”.
Stressing the importance of council elections, Ross wrote in the Scottish Daily Mail: “The election on May 5 will decide so much of what happens in your community. The future of your streets and your schools is at stake.
“When you’ve been frustrated by overflowing bins and potholes deep enough to stand in – this is your chance to change that.”
The Tory leader continued: “One month from today, across Scotland, you will have the opportunity to remove the SNP from power.
“The prize is there for the taking. The SNP is beatable.”
READ MORE: SNP on track for record result in local council elections, poll says
He added that, in the council by-elections that have taken place since last May’s Holyrood vote, the Tories had been “only a few hundred votes behind” the SNP in seats across Scotland.
Ross told voters: “In councils across the country, this election is a two-horse race.
“We’ve got one month to beat the SNP so we can get all of the focus onto your local priorities. Help us knock the Nats down to size. On May 5, the power is in your hands.”
Meanwhile, a Survation Poll for Ballot Box Scotland found the SNP are on course to win 44% of first preference votes, up from 32% in 2017.
Some 23% (+3) of respondents said they would back Labour, 18% (-7) the Conservatives, 6% (-1) the LibDems and 3% (-1) the Greens.
Allan Faulds from Ballot Box Scotland said: “If these findings are accurate, the SNP are on track to deliver an astonishing record result in May, and Labour would again become the second-largest party at local government level, giving both parties reason to be cheerful.
“On the other hand, the Conservatives, LibDems, Greens and Independents would seem to be headed for worse results, and Alba’s support is pretty pitiable. That said, some of these figures are rather eyebrow raising when compared to other electoral evidence.”
SNP depute leader Keith Brown said: "The Tories are sinking in the polls as the cost-of-living crisis bites.
“These elections are vital, first to elect SNP councillors who will work tirelessly for local communities. May 5 is also an opportunity to make our voices heard, to send a message to the Tories who are failing families, and cast a verdict on Boris Johnson’s lies, cronyism, and moral failure."
“This latest poll shows that people in Scotland continue to put their trust in the SNP and that positive vision we have for our nation – but there is absolutely no room for complacency as the campaign heats up.
“We already know that turnout will be key in this election, which is why the SNP will continue to take nothing for granted – working for every single vote until polling day.
“Locking the Tories out of power in council chambers across Scotland means getting out to vote – and voting SNP. It’s hardly surprising to see the Tories sinking in the polls – with dodgy PPE contracts going to party donors, failure to act on the cost of living crisis and the scandal of Boris Johnson’s Downing Street parties still very much on the public’s mind.”
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