Conservatives

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has launched his party’s manifesto by urging voters to ‘rediscover the Better Together spirit’.

Opposition to a second independence referendum was again front and centre of the party’s Holyrood manifesto launch in Aberdeen.

However, Mr Ross lacks the support of Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who has already ruled out joining a “unionist coalition” to take on the SNP, amid exclusive polling by Survation for The Courier, which puts the Tories in third place behind Labour.

The Scottish Conservative leader called on voters to “rediscover that Better Together spirit” to defeat the SNP – who are predicted to win an overall majority according to our new poll.

Speaking at a press conference, Mr Ross said he was “not ashamed of Better Together”.

He added: “I campaigned in 2014 with members of the Liberal Democrats, the Labour Party and with members of no political affiliation at all and we won.

“It was by coming together, uniting behind that message that we defeated the SNP and their plans to separate Scotland from the rest of the UK in 2014.

“I’m not ashamed by that; I’m proud of that. But it does seem from the reaction of the Scottish Labour Party that they are ashamed, they don’t want to work with pro-UK parties to stop the SNP, to get our focus off a referendum and back on the recovery.”

Mr Ross also said he would “continue to hold that olive branch” for Labour to work together.

The Moray MP confirmed he will continue as MP for Moray even if elected as an MSP for the Highlands and Islands region, amid criticism from SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford.

He said dual mandates were “not new”, adding the SNP “have history with a former MP who was an MSP, party leader and first minister” in the form of Alex Salmond.

Mr Ross, who revealed he would not stand down if his party comes third in the Holyrood election, said he would follow in the footsteps of previous politicians in this position and donate his MSP salary to charity.

He said: “That was the SNP policy up until a few months ago when, for their own reasons, they decided to not allow people to have dual mandates.”

Douglas Ross.