Why Humza Yousaf and SNP's 'Tory free' message is a big attack on Labour's authority

The SNP has embroiled itself in a row over wanting to make Scotland Tory free – but it’s as much a dig at Labour as the Conservatives.

A row has erupted over the SNP calling for a ‘Tory free’ Scotland – but the strategy is arguably more an attack on Labour than the Conservatives.

SNP MP Pete Wishart has publicly said he will not use the messaging in his election campaign. Surely just not doing that would have been enough for Mr Wishart, but to state his opposition publicly to the policy will do Humza Yousaf no favours at all.

To Mr Wishart, it is seen as a toxic message that will upset voters swaying up a vote for the Conservatives or the SNP. For him, that message is not worth the risk.

First Minister Humza Yousaf speaks at the SNP Campaign Council in Perth on Saturday. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

It is fairly clear to most people the message is about removing all the remaining Tory MPs from Scotland, rather than some opposition warning the SNP want to rid Scotland of Conservative voters.

Labour has finally placed itself as the party to vote for in Scotland to get rid of the Conservative government, a position the party has not found itself in for some time. The SNP are now muscling in, trying to get a piece of that action.

The ‘Tory free’ message makes a claim the SNP and the Conservatives are the only ones vying for votes and seats in Scotland. And that simply is not true.

It is likely that in those seats the Conservatives hold in Scotland, the main challengers, if we go by the 2019 general election, will be the SNP. Geographically, in the north east and the Borders, Labour are less likely to be competitive.

But Labour has surged in the polls and is seen pretty much neck and neck with the SNP. Across parts of central and western Scotland, Labour will be Mr Yousaf’s biggest problem.

Mr Yousaf has already told voters that Keir Starmer’s party are in line to form the next UK government. In his first speech of the year, the FM was crystal clear that barring a complete disaster, Labour will replace the Conservatives at Westminster.

That was part of a political ploy to tell voters that voting for Labour in Scotland was a waste of time, since they are already a shoo-in for power.

Now Mr Yousaf’s attention is very-much turning to the Conservatives. He has been up in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire several times, he was there on Monday and expect him to be there a lot more before the general election takes place.

The Scottish Conservatives are also hedging their bets on Aberdeen and the North East, once again holding their annual conference in the oil and gas heartland. The fossil fuels fanatics are positioning themselves as the only party willing to save oil and gas workers from losing their jobs – a claim the SNP has also made as part of an attack on Labour.

The ‘Tory free’ message will strike a chord with some voters in Scotland. But it is as much an attack on Labour’s surge in authority as the anti-Conservative vote in Scotland than a dig at those who vote for Douglas Ross’s party.