THE Tory MSP challenging Jackson Carlaw for the Scottish Tory leadership has told non-Conservative voters she is just like them in a new campaign video.
The party's social security spokesperson Michelle Ballantyne, who has caused controversy with her claims on the Bedroom Tax, the two-child benefit cap and the NHS, is hoping to win the top job.
So far, Carlaw has the support of a number of elected Tory politicians, while Ballantyne only has backing from a few councillors.
READ MORE: Jackson Carlaw gains support in Scottish Tory leadership bid
In the campaign clip, Ballantyne says: "I want you to join me so we can attract people who've never voted for the Conservatives before because we can make a difference for them.
"I think it's time that we had a real change, a real connection with the front lines of everyday people.
"I have been a nurse. I have managed services in the NHS. I have set up a successful business that now provides stable employment and I've run third sector charities, and I've done all this while raising a large family.
As a businesswoman, charity worker, working mother and former nurse, I understand the day-to-day challenges facing working people across Scotland
— Michelle Ballantyne (@MBallantyneMSP) January 13, 2020
To win in 2021, we must reach out to people who have not voted @ScotTories before
Please come and join me!#BackingBallantyne pic.twitter.com/vkOllsNupY
"I am just like you. I've walked a mile in your shoes."
Ballantyne was urged to resign in 2018 after a “vile” benefit speech in Holyrood during a debate on poverty and austerity.
In it, she had defended the rape clause and two-child benefit cap imposed by her colleagues at Westminster and claimed poor people shouldn’t be allowed to “have as many children as they like”.
She was later accused of hypocrisy when it transpired that she had claimed child benefits and tax credits for her own six children.
READ MORE: Who is the MSP challenging Jackson Carlaw to be ScotsTory leader?
Carlaw, who was deputy leader at the time, described her comments as "clumsy".
The MSP also found herself in hot water after admitting she would be “happy” if government had nothing to do with the NHS.
“That will never ever happen because of the money around it but it should be run by the people who know best,” she said.
It has long been suggested that Tories support the privatisation of the NHS.
Ballantyne's comments on the Bedroom Tax have also come under scrutiny.
Asked if she was committed to mitigating the policy in Scotland by depute SNP leader Keith Brown, she said: “There’s no such thing as a 'Bedroom Tax', so I wouldn’t even go down that route."
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