Davidson puts Scotland at the heart of the Union as she unveils Tory manifesto

RUTH Davidson has called for a new, ongoing campaign to make the case for Scotland remaining part of the UK.

The Scottish Conservative leader said her party would be “determined” to assemble a broad-based pro-UK campaign if it emerges as the main opposition to the SNP after the Holyrood election.

A fresh poll predicts the party will secure an extra five seats at Holyrood taking their total haul to 20 – five fewer than has been forecast for Scottish Labour.

Ms Davidson put her staunch opposition to a second referendum at the heart of her pitch to voters as she unveiled the Scots Tories’ manifesto in Glasgow’s City Halls.

The glossy 50-page document also emphasised her call for taxes to be no higher than in the rest of the UK and her pledge to campaign against the controversial ‘named person’ child protection scheme.

Among a series of policies aimed at wooing traditional Labour supporters, she also called for 100,000 new houses to be built and demanded a £1 billion investment in upgrading cold, damp homes.

But in her speech to around 200 activists and in the manifesto itself, her promise to oppose a second independence referendum and make the case for the Union was pushed front and centre.

Presenting the Tories as a strong opposition to the SNP, she said: “It starts – as always – with our support for the Union.”

She said the Tories had a “duty” to stand up for the Union after Nicola Sturgeon last month announced a summer project to promote the case for independence.

“We do not believe there are any so-called ‘indyref triggers’ that justify another referendum,” said Ms Davidson. “We need to make the counter case to the SNP to ensure that, if the SNP carries out its threat to launch its summer initiative for independence, then the clear pro-UK case is made as well,” she said.

Admitting the pro-UK case had seemed negative, she added: “If we are to counter the SNP’s mis-information, this must change. The case for independence is dead. The case for the Union must now be made.”

Ms Davidson was candid about her party’s prospects.

She said people were “not daft” and understood, with the SNP enjoying an apparently unassailable lead in the opinion polls, she would not be First Minister after May 5.

But she underlined the Tories’ goal of overtaking Labour to become the main opposition party at Holyrood and said of her manifesto: “It isn’t a programme for government. It is a programme for that strong opposition.”

She said the Tories in opposition would set up their own panel of economic advisers to help them “provide a counterweight” to plans to increase income tax for Scots. She called for a new Crisis Family Fund to help “troubled families” in place of the named person scheme.

She also demanded a two per cent annual increase in NHS spending and an extra £300 million to be spent improving mental health services over the course of the next parliament.

John Swinney, the SNP’s campaign director, said: “Ruth Davidson admits her manifesto isn’t a programme for government and that her party have no intention of setting out a detailed plan on how they would run Scotland.

“That is irresponsible and disrespectful to voters, who deserve better from the Tories than a long lost of things they are against and virtually nothing about what they are for or what they would do given the chance.”