The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Cameron to keep away from Tories’ Holyrood bid
Ruth Davidson says she’s leading the Scots’ election charge as leaders flock to area
David Cameron is too tied up with the Queen’s birthday celebrations and Barack Obama’s visit to appear on the Holyrood election trail, Ruth Davidson said. During a visit to Fife in which she mounted a buffalo, the Scottish Conservatives leader confirmed Mr Cameron would not visit Scotland to beef up their campaign charge.
She dismissed suggestions the Prime Minister’s visits north of the border tend to lead to a slump in polling for the Scottish Conservatives.
Ms Davidson was one of three party leaders who ventured into Courier Country yesterday to spread their election messages before the May 5 ballot.
Nicola Sturgeon was in Cupar meeting teenagers voting for the first time, while Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Willie Rennie put forward a plan to tackle the GP crisis on a visit to Perthshire.
Asked about whether Mr Cameron would make it to Scotland before the election, Ms Davidson said: “The Prime Minister is slightly busy at the moment.
“He’s got the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations and he’s also got a state visit from the US president.
“It’s my name on the ballot paper so I’ll be handling the Scottish election.
“As you can imagine, the SNP and our opponents generally like to do what opponents do and slag us off, but there is no correlation that I can see between any visits and any polling numbers.”
She said the polls now see them overtaking Labour for second place as the official opposition, which she said is what the “country needs to hold the SNP to account”.
The Tories’ support in the regional list has crept above that of Labour’s, according to a Survation poll published in the Daily Record today.
That would be enough to see Ms Davidson lead her party to the remarkablefeat ofbecoming Holyrood’s official opposition.
Alex Rowley, Labour’s deputy leader and campaign manager, said recent polls, as well as the last two years generally, have been “difficult” for the party.
But the Cowdenbeath candidate, who was in Coatbridge meeting bowls players, said “we’re in the right place”, adding: “We’ve got the right policies, we’ve got the levels of ambition Scotland needs and we just need to work hard to persuade people.”
Mr Rowley then turned his attentions to the Nationalists, accusing them of ducking big decisions that Labour has taken, such as their proposal to raise the top tax rate to 50p to support education and being explicit on a fracking ban.
“Kicking tough decisions into the long grass sells Scotland short, but whether it’s improving education, tackling poverty or banning fracking that is exactly what the SNP do,” he said.
The First Minister explained how she would use new welfare powers as she laid out a package of election sweeteners to try and secure the teen vote during a visit to Cupar Youth Cafe, where she met first-time voters.
It includes restoring housing benefit to all 18 to 21-year-olds, a job grant for those under 24 who are unemployed for more than six months and free university tuition.
Ms Sturgeon said: “For the first time 16 and 17-year-olds will be entitled to vote in a national election, and young voters deserve to know they’ll be given every chance to succeed in life.
The SNP are making a serious offer to Scotland’s young people – with free tuition and increased support for students, increased apprenticeships and maintained college numbers to ensure that there are opportunities for all.”
Mr Rennie called on the SNP leader to use her visit to Cupar to announce the reversal of cuts to the college system and to merge the town’s Elmwood College with Fife.
He was at a Blairgowrie surgery setting out four-point plan for tackling the GP crisis, which includes trebling the amount of cash given to primary care services. The SNP’s college meddling and cuts has posed a real threat to the future of Elmwood in Cupar. With the old Elmwood cut in half and struggling to cope with massive cuts to funds and courses I am deeply concerned about the future of the campus,” he said.
It’s my name on the ballot paper so I’ll be handling the Scottish election. RUTH DAVIDSON