Perth could hold keys to No. 10

Low income voters in Perthshire could hold the key to who is the next prime minister, according to a national charity.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation published a report this week suggesting Scottish voters earning less than £20,000 will be pivotal to both Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn’s chances of getting to 10 Downing Street.

Winning seats from the SNP will be vital for both the Conservatives and Labour if they want to win the next general election.

The charity has highlighted 15 key seats across Scotland with narrow majorities.

Among them is Perth and North Perthshire, where Pete Wishart won by just 21 votes ahead of the Tories in last year’s snap vote.

The report concludes that both the SNP and Tories need to look beyond arguments over independence and Brexit while Labour risks being“squeezed”in Scotland despite a recovery in England andWales.

Describing Scottish politics as being in “flux”, the report argues:“Politically, what happens in Scotland at the next general election could determine whether Labour or the Conservative Party hold the keys to Downing Street or the SNP holds the balance of power.

“This is why there are good reasons for the main parties to think seriously about how to win over voters in Scotland, in particular low-income voters, who are increasingly a key battleground in Scottish and British politics more widely.”