SCOTTISH Labour have been branded an “embarrassment” after reports that the party has not even selected a candidate in the six Westminster seats won by the Tories at the last General Election.
The SNP said that Keir Starmer’s party “can’t credibly pretend” to be aiming to oust the Conservatives if they have not even chosen candidates to run against them.
Of the seven Tory-held constituencies in Scotland, Labour have only selected a candidate in East Kilbride and Strathaven – an area won by the SNP in 2019 but represented by Conservative defector Lisa Cameron.
Previously, Scottish Tory chair Craig Hoy has suggested that his party will not be aiming to retain Cameron’s seat in the upcoming General Election, instead focusing on more rural areas.
However, in many of those more rural areas including all six constituencies won by the Tories in 2019, Labour do not yet have a candidate.
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The Press and Journal reported that Labour have not selected anyone to run in:
- Aberdeenshire North and Moray East
- Angus and Perthshire Glens
- Arbroath and Broughty Ferry
- Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber
- Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
- Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
- Dumfries and Galloway
- Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale
- Dundee Central
- Edinburgh West
- Gordon and Buchan
- Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire
- Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey
- North East Fife
- Orkney and Shetland
- Perth and Kinross-shire
- Stirling and Strathallan
- West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
SNP MP Chris Law (below) said: “Voting SNP at the Westminster election is the only way to defeat Scottish Tory MPs and make Scotland’s voice heard at Westminster.
“It’s clear the SNP is the only party that can win in the Tory-held seats in Scotland – with Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party failing to even select a candidate in a third of seats across Scotland, including every seat won by the Tories in 2019.
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“This is the latest embarrassment for branch office manager Anas Sarwar, who can’t credibly pretend he's trying to get rid of the Tories in Scotland when the Labour Party has no candidates in any of the Tory seats."
A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “We will field candidates in every seat across Scotland to take the fight to the Tories and the SNP, and deliver the change Scotland needs.”
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