Battle is not lost in Borders as SNP fight for most marginal seat

● Nationalists aim to hold slenderest of majorities as Tories spotlight indyref2

George Whiteford, the proprietor of hunting and fishing emporium R Welsh & Sons in the Borders town of Duns, does not think much of politicians.

Standing in front of a rack filled with rifles and shotguns, Mr Whiteford fires both barrels at the government in Edinburgh, primari- ly over police cutbacks that he says have made a mess of gun licensing. “I can tell you this much: the SNP haven’t done a thing for us.”

If the Conservatives break the habit of 20 years and send a second Scottish MP to Westminster,

0 The constituency, which includes Eyemouth, was traditionally Liberal, but it has moved towards the Tories then with the help of Mr Whiteford, they will surely do it here.

Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk is the most marginal Tory whip, he could be asked into government if things go well on 8 June.

“I’m never confident before elections,” he says. “It was the same with exams when I was at school. It didn’t matter how hard I worked, I always felt I was up against it.”

Driving along winding Borders roads, few fields are without a jumbo John Lamont placard to keep the sheep and dairy cows company.

But in towns along the route of the £350 million Borders Railway, blue placards give way to yellow banners bearing Mr Kerr’s name.

“My signs tend to be where the people are,” the native Borderer and former telecoms worker says. “As a friend of mine said, it’s not the sheep that can vote, it’s the people.”

The independence-focused Tory campaign is “deeply cynical”, he says. Mr Kerr is not talking about indyref2, and neither are voters.

“The bigger issues are jobs, welfare, and yes, pensions – it’s amazing just how much people are aware of what’s in the Tory manifesto,” he says.

EU farm payments worth £61.5m per year to the area make Brexit another big issue, and if the Borders aren’t a natural SNP stronghold, then investment in new schools, flood defences and the railway show commitment to the area, he says.

“They obviously feel confident, but they also felt confident two years ago,” Mr Kerr says of his opponents. “Are we in a challenging situation? Yes, absolutely. Can we still win it? Yes, absolutely.”