THE Tories have been accused of running a “campaign of misinformation” after “misleading” voters in a Scottish constituency.
The criticism surrounds an “outrageous” leaflet targeted at residents in a Glasgow district.
The party has used Scotland-wide voting results from 2017 to convince residents there to back its candidate – even though its local vote share is far lower than the national level.
The party came in third in Glasgow North West with 18% of the vote in 2017.
SNP incumbent Carol Monaghan was re-elected on 42.5%, with Labour in second place on 35.9%.
READ MORE: Election: Labour graph claiming 3% SNP support sent to Scots homes
But Tory election material there claims Conservative candidate Ade Aibinu, a city councillor, is the only runner who can challenge for the seat.
A bar chart claims that “only the Scottish Conservatives are strong enough to take on the SNP” and shows that party in second place to Sturgeon’s side, with Labour trailing far behind.
But minute writing underneath the graph reveals those numbers are in fact “how we voted across Scotland at the last General Election”.
And instead of the wide gulf illustrated between Labour and the Tories in the chart, The Tories were just 1.5% ahead nationwide.
A Tory spokesman defended the flyer, saying: “The leaflet makes it perfectly clear which result is being referred to in the graph.”
But one Glasgow North West – which has never been held by the Conservatives – resident told The National he felt “insulted” by it, saying: “It’s outrageous – the Tories have got no chance in Glasgow North West.
“If it’s a choice between a Tory candidate and an independence referendum, I pick another independence referendum all day long. I don’t want my MP to stand against indyref2, I want my MP to stand for democracy.
“It’s an insult to the intelligence of the voters of Glasgow North West, who are smart enough to not elect a Tory.”
READ MORE: Election: SNP candidate slams Labour leaflet's 'dodgy bar chart'
Labour hope their former MSP Patricia Ferguson will win on December 12. A party source said: “In spite of the Tories’ dodgy diagrams, only Scottish Labour is in any position to kick the SNP out of Glasgow North West.
"At the last election the SNP’s majority was only 2,561 . Only Labour can beat the SNP in Glasgow North West and only Labour’s radical and bold message of real hope for this country can deliver the real change Glasgow North West, Scotland and the whole UK needs.”
But SNP rival Monaghan, a former physics teacher, has called on Aibinu’s team to go back to school, saying: “This so-called election literature with their misleading bar charts is another example of the Tories’ campaign of misinformation.
“It is ridiculous for them to suggest that they are polling at 28% in Glasgow North West. I wouldn’t have accepted such shoddy work from a first-year pupil.
“The Tories need to join the LibDems back at school to learn some basic numeracy.”
The comment follows repeated condemnation of the skewed bar charts used by Jo Swinson’s party, who were yesterday threatened with a media blackout by Newsquest, The National’s parent company, over a campaign pamphlet which looks like another of its titles.
The “Mid Hampshire Gazette”, campaign material for Winchester LibDem candidate Paula Ferguson is similar to the weekly Basingstoke Gazette.
Katie French, its editor, said the LibDems had “shamelessly exploited the trusted format of a local newspaper for their own political gain”, accusing them of “a flagrant attempt to manipulate voters”.
Toby Granville, editorial director of Newsquest Media Group, said he would advise all editors “not to publish any campaign news” from the LibDems unless their paper was pulled.
That move was backed by the Society of Editors, who condemned the “concerted effort” to “mislead readers and voters” and called for “clear, enforceable guidelines” on such material.
It stated: “It is ironic how it is often politicians who complain about fake news but then set out to at least blur the lines.”
But a party spokesperson defended the literature, telling Channel 4: “Liberal Democrats pride ourselves on working hard locally all year round on the issues that matter to local people.
“During an election period this even more important and we are committed to informing people about the issues that matter to them.”
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