Boris Johnson sleaze scandals ‘will help secure election win’, SNP insiders say

Green and Alba campaigners say they’re confident ahead as the election push enters its final days.

Senior SNP activists across the country told the Sunday National ongoing questions about the PM’s conduct has given their drive fresh momentum and is likely to sway voters on May 6.

Johnson says he’s done nothing wrong and has now paid for new decor in 11 Downing Street. But it’s claimed he had a Tory donor cover the costs initially and the Electoral Commission says there are ”reasonable grounds” to suspect offences may have occurred and has launched an inquiry.

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An SNP source said: “We’re not taking anything for granted but what’s happening right now is the worst nightmare for Douglas Ross and the Scottish Tories. There’s a reason they kept Boris Johnson away from the campaign and it’s because he’s a liability here. This is perhaps the only thing he could do to make himself more of a liability. Most people say things like ‘what’s that fud all about?’”

Johnson has been entirely absent from the Scottish Conservative campaign. Support for the Scottish Tories has fallen by more than 20% since he became leader and after the party’s manifesto launch it emerged he had ditched plans to visit Scotland to bid for votes. His spokesperson Allegra Stratton said the pandemic had made such visits “more challenging”, but the PM has travelled to several targets in the English local government elections, also being held on Thursday – and went to Glasgow in January, despite a ban on non-essential travel.

In a speech in Coldstream on Thursday, Ross – who is seeking to add MSP to his list of current employment – seemed to distance himself from boss Johnson, saying the election is “more important than what you think about individuals and parties” as he appealed to unionists to back the Tories.

Ross (above) said: “This is the election for making the anti-referendum, pro-UK majority in Scotland count, for putting our normal party political differences aside in the national interest.”

But SNP sources say questions over Johnson’s conduct are having an impact on voters. In Ross’ home turf of Moray, SNP Elgin branch organiser Barry Weiland-Jarvis said dislike of Ross was motivating people against the Tories: “Folk have been telling us they’re desperate to see the SNP elected again – they’re galvanised by the result in 2019. There are people who were on the cusp of supporting us who are now saying we’re going to join because of Douglas Ross.

“Recently he’s upset a lot of folk because he said his position on equal marriage and Gypsy/Travellers was reflecting the views of the constituency. People are saying ‘no it certainly is not’.”

READ MORE: Douglas Ross told to stop blaming constituents for his 'repugnant views'

In Stirling, where Tory MP Stephen Kerr lost his seat to the SNP’s Alyn Smith in 2019, the SNP’s latest leaflet features an image of Johnson, asking voters who they’d rather see run Scotland. Campaign organiser Lee Robb said: “People were more willing to stomach Theresa May than Boris Johnson and with what’s happened recently, that’s been exacerbated.”

Qasim Hanif, who is running the national drive by the SNP’s Scots Asians for Independence, said that team is seeing a “huge, huge swing” from the Conservatives: “People who were previously Conservative or Labour are now undecided.

“This has been one of the most negative campaigns from the Tory party. The leadership don’t understand what’s happening in Scotland.”

Hanif, a Highlands and Islands list candidate, went on: “The biggest swing we are seeing is people from the Tories and Labour coming into the SNP. They are fed-up with Westminster.

“In East Renfrewshire there’s a huge, huge swing from the Conservatives to the SNP.”

Alex Kerr, an SNP list candidate in Glasgow, said: “On the doors, Nicola Sturgeon’s handling of the pandemic is having a huge impact. A lot of people are still undecided on independence but are lending us their vote because of the impact of Nicola Sturgeon. That shows how much of an asset she is to the party and the movement. We win people over to independence by showing them we are serious about government.

“We are picking up people being really, really annoyed with Boris Johnson and what’s happening down south with the Tories. Sleaze is the word for it and it’s been one thing after another this week. It’s going to harm them in places where folk were lending them their vote to oppose the SNP.”

Another source said: “There are no spanners in the works. North Ayrshire is really holding up. My underlying gut instinct is that there seems to be very little slippage in the SNP vote. The LibDems are in serious danger. We are determined not to let the grass grow. Our activists will work their backsides off for the last few days of the campaign.”'

And SNP depute leader Keith Brown said: “The Tory government at Westminster is mired in sleaze, scandal and cronyism. Scotland can do so much better than this, and every single vote will make a difference and show the Tories that they’re not untouchable.”

But on Friday polling expert Professor John Curtice (above) said results show “support for independence is lower, and support for the SNP is lower” now than at the start of the campaign. He said: “This could be the difference between the SNP getting a majority or not, and as that was only about 50% at the beginning of the campaign it’s probably less now. “

However, he said the Scottish Greens “look as though they could have a record performance”, based on the latest results. Campaigning in Glasgow, list candidate Dan Hutchison says feedback from the ground is positive – and expects an upsurge in Green voting to be partly driven by the Alba Party’s “supermajority” push. Hutchison said: “Alba have messed up. People have taken the idea on that ‘both votes SNP’ is not a great idea but that’s opened up a conversation and people who haven’t voted Green before are now considering it for the first time.”

The Greens had an early boost when co-leader Lorna Slater was praised for her TV debate performance. Hutchison said: “We’ve had a lot more coverage this time. Broadcasters have been stuck in a Westminster bubble for years and haven’t really considered that we’ve got a bigger membership than the LibDems.

“I’m seeing a lot more Green posters. In the First Minister’s own constituency yesterday I saw my first Sarwar poster, then walked 20 Green posters and two or three Sturgeon posters.”

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Alba, according to Curtice, is “nowhere” in the polls, aside from research by Panelbase. An SNP source said: “Nobody I know can feel any real purchase from the Alba Party for some reason. If people are voting for them, they are keeping it a good secret. It’s a really hard one to gauge, I don’t want to knock them, but I can’t find anybody saying that they’re picking up.”

But the party, which launched less than two months away from the election and was not included in the TV debates, remains confident. West of Scotland candidate Chris McEleny said: “We’re seeing a lot of people come over to Alba from the SNP, people are turning out to our events all across Scotland. Our grassroots activist base is amazing and we’ve got thousands and thousands of leaflets out.

“All the other parties are either trying not to talk about independence or park a referendum till after the recovery. That would leave Westminster in charge of Scotland’s recovery.”