TENS of thousands of Scots could switch from supporting the SNP to the Tories in the forthcoming General Election, a senior member of the UK government has insisted.
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove made the claim - insisting the party will be “competitive as never before” north of the border - despite a new poll presented at the Conservative conference which suggested the Tories are set to lose as much as 58% of their voters in Scotland from 2019 and 2021 at the next election.
Gove held out the example of MP Lisa Cameron – who defected from the SNP and joined the Conservatives, with Gove claiming that she had “shown the way that I know tens of thousands of other Scots will be following at this forthcoming general election”.
The MP vowed that at the election, the “Scottish Conservatives will be competitive as never before”.
READ MORE: Poll: Tories could lose 58 per cent of past voters in Scotland
He told the party’s Scottish conference in Aberdeen: “It’s not just the case that there are seats where we are defending, where we will increase our majority, there are seats we can win and win well across the whole of Scotland.”
Gove, who was born and grew up in Aberdeen, used his speech to attack the SNP’s record in government at Holyrood on areas such as education, saying: “When I was educated in Scotland’s schools, they were the pride not just of the United Kingdom, but the envy of Europe.
“Now no longer. It is because this Scottish Government has presided over changes in our education system, particularly to our curriculum, which meant we slipped down the international league tables and Scotland’s schools now lag behind those of England and those of other European countries.
“It’s a tragedy, and it’s solely down to the SNP.”
Meanwhile, on the economy, he claimed that Scotland “used to be at the entrepreneurial leading edge when it came to innovation and job creation in the UK economy” but said that now the country was “the highest taxed part of the United Kingdom, we’re seeing an effective brain drain”.
This is despite impartial researchers at the House of Commons library found most Scots experience a lighter tax burden than those down south.
The analysis, authored by a senior Library clerk in its economic policy and statistics division, said that 52% of Scots paid less in tax than if they lived in England, in the current financial year.
Hitting out at the SNP, Gove said: “They say they’re the party of Scotland. They’re not, they’re the party of division that has let us all down.
“The sooner we see the back of them the better for everybody’s sake.”
He added that the election will see voters given “two competing visions” for Scotland’s future, claiming these would be “a vision of a Scottish Government led by Humza Yousaf that has had its chance and failed” and an alternative “vision championed by Scottish Conservatives that ensures that this United Kingdom, with Scotland at its heart can be stronger than ever before”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel