DOUGLAS Ross has rubbished suggestion his party could be overtaken by Labour at May’s Holyrood election – insisting that Anas Sarwar has “not found the right message” in support of the Union.
The Scottish Conservative leader said that Scottish Labour is focusing on re-establishing itself as a credible party, rather than being in a position to grow support.
Some recent polls have projected that Labour could win more seats than the Tories when voters go to the polls in May.
Mr Ross said he was “very confident” his party will continue to make progress at the ballot box – pointing to Labour “which has lost votes and lost seats at every single Scottish Parliament election”.
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He added: “Given Anas Sarwar has accepted his party has let down Scotland and he needs to rebuild his party, it seems that’s his first priority before he can start to look at advancing in the polls or in the parliament.
“We just have to look at the results today – two by-elections – one was a Conservative gain from the SNP and the other by-election saw the Conservative vote increase far more than the Scottish Labour party vote.
“If you actually look at ballot box returns, Scottish Conservatives are doing well right across the country in these key by-elections.”
Mr Sarwar has been open about the past failings of Scottish Labour – stressing he wants to restore his party as a credible force at Holyrood, adding that he is expecting a long-term rebuilding project.
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Mr Ross said that what he claimed was Labour’s lack of strength in support for the Union will play into his party’s hands with voters.
He said: “The Scottish Labour party are not strong on the Union, they’ve not found the right message. They vote with the SNP, they help the SNP in Holyrood and therefore they are undermining their message on the Union.
“People in this election are looking for the strongest, clearest party to stand up for Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom. That has been and will continue to be the Scottish Conservatives.”
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