The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Tory poll slump will ‘focus the minds’ of voters
ELECTION: Voters will wake up to threat of Corbyn as Prime Minister – Davidson
A poll showing Theresa May’s lead over Jeremy Corbyn has slipped to just five points will “focus the minds” of voters, Ruth Davidson said.
The Scottish Conservatives leader said research indicates the veteran leftwinger could “potentially” be prime minister after June 8.
The YouGov survey for The Times put the Conservatives down a point on the previous week at 43% and Labour up three on 38%. Just weeks ago the Tories had a 24-point lead over Labour.
Ms Davidson said: “This is going to focus minds on the idea that there could potentially be a Jeremy Corbyn prime ministership.
“If you don’t want Jeremy Corbyn to be the Prime Minister of this country, if you don’t believe he’s equipped to be the Prime Minister of this country, there’s no safe way to vote Labour.”
Ms Davidson was campaigning in East Renfrewshire, which was the safest Conservative seat in Scotland 20 years ago but was won by the SNP from Labour in the last general election.
Party leaders in Scotland were back on the election trail yesterday as campaigning resumed across the UK following the Manchester bombing.
Nicola Sturgeon was in Edinburgh where she called for a doubling of National Insurance relief for firms hiring new workers, and promised business grants for new machinery.
Meeting apprentices at Scottish Gas headquarters, she said: “These actions will make a real difference, enhancing job creation and driving economic growth for Scotland.”
She added: “Now more than ever, it is vital that Scotland has strong SNP voices standing up for Scotland, for our economy and for our businesses.”
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale was go-karting in East Lothian.
She said: “Labour is in pole position to defeat the SNP in seats such as East Lothian and right across the central belt.
“Only by backing Labour in these marginal seats can voters send a message to Nicola Sturgeon to get back to the day job.”
To reach swing voters in target seats such as Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, her party is today using techniques deployed by Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, including socio demographic modelling.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie issued a fresh call for the rights of EU nationals to be guaranteed following the Brexit vote.
On a visit to a pharmacy in Glasgow, where he hailed the importance of EU nationals to the NHS, he said: “We rely on these dedicated and skilled people to keep our NHS running.”