The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Sturgeon: Tory scandal will impact the election
Nicola Sturgeon says scandals such as the prime minister’s partygate fines and antisnp Twitter trolls in Angus are being felt in the upcoming council election.
Scotland heads to the polls for the local council elections on May 5 and the first minister’s SNP campaign bus arrived in Arbroath yesterday.
She said the party has every reason to have a “big spring in its step” in Angus.
Ms Sturgeon also said ongoing scandals at “all levels” of the Conservative Party are having an impact on how people on the doorsteps will vote.
The prime minister is still facing calls to resign after receiving a fine from the Met Police for a party held in Number 10 during the coronavirus lockdown.
And the Scottish Conservatives have said they are sticking by Angus candidate Derek Wann, who The Courier unveiled as Lady Whistledown, a faceless anti-snp Twitter troll.
Ms Sturgeon believes these issues, even at a national level, will affect how people vote in Thursday’s election.
Speaking to The Courier during her visit to Arbroath, Ms Sturgeon said: “People want to know there is integrity in the council and in the government.
“When it comes to the Conservatives at all levels people are seeing a lack of integrity coming from the prime minister who evidently misled Parliament over partygate and by sticking to a candidate whose behaviour shows a contempt for local voters.
“The lack of integrity in the Conservatives’ campaign is something people care about”
Ms Sturgeon has also said there needs to be “new leadership” and “fresh thinking” at the helm of Angus Council, and says she is confident the SNP will do well in the region on Thursday.
She said: “I am optimistic but I take nothing for granted.
“I have fought far too many to be complacent when asking the public for their votes.
“There is an appetite here to send the Tories a message about partygate and their inaction so far in addressing the cost-ofliving crisis.
“The SNP has got a very strong and proud record in Angus and we have every reason to have a big spring in our step.”
Polling stations will be open from 7am until 10pm on Thursday with the counts beginning on Friday.
Conservative Miles Briggs MSP, the party’s local government spokesman, said: “It’s little wonder that Nicola Sturgeon is desperate to switch the focus of this election away from local services, because her SNP government’s record is so poor. Years of savage SNP funding cuts to local government have left councils across Scotland, including Angus, struggling to deliver the core services they’re expected to.
“But the public know what Thursday’s election is about and who is ultimately to blame for the state of their roads, schools, bin collections and library closures, as well as council tax rises.”