Activists hit the streets in '˜Super Saturday' push for votes

Around 50,000 SNP activists led a final push for votes yesterday as it attempted to reach every voter ahead of Thursday's election.

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale launches a new billboard poster in Edinburgh's Leith Walk. Picture: Neil Hanna

Nicola Sturgeon’s rivals were also out in force on the last weekend before the election with Labour and the Conservatives locked in a battle for second place.

On the day of campaigning nicknamed “Super Saturday”, SNP supporters were aiming to hit all of Scotland’s 2.4 million households over 48 hours. Over the weekend Sturgeon’s party hosted over 153 street stalls in towns and cities across Scotland while its formidable digital operation said it was reaching out to 1.2 million users.

This week Sturgeon will visit the north east of Scotland following on from her trip from Ayrshire to East Lothian last week.

On the campaign trail in Stirling, the SNP leader said: “With five days till polling day it is time for voters to decide who they trust as First Minister and who can take this country forward.

“I pledge to people all across Scotland that if I am elected as First Minister I will work tirelessly to keep Scotland moving forward and to always act in the best interests of Scotland.

“I will deliver the investment that is needed to transform our NHS with more doctors, nurses and new treatment centres. I will put improving our education system at the heart of the government’s efforts.”

Meanwhile the Labour leader Kezia Dugdale claimed her party’s plans to use the Scottish Parliament’s new powers to tax the rich meant every Scot would benefit from £600 higher public spending.

The party’s analysis showed that its plans to reinstate the 50 pence tax rate on the highest earners and put an extra penny on income tax across the bands would raise £3 billion more than the SNP over the next five years.

According to Labour, the extra cash amounted to nearly £600 per person or £1,250 per household.

Dugdale said: “The new powers of the Scottish Parliament mean there is a clear choice in this election. We can vote to carry on the cuts with the SNP and the Tories or stop the cuts with Scottish Labour.

“Labour’s plans to use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to tax the rich, invest in education and stop the cuts will mean £600 of public spending more per person compared to the SNP. We can use our Scottish Parliament to call a halt to the conveyor belt of Tory austerity. The cuts can stop, we can tax the richest and we can invest in our future.”

Ruth Davidson’s Conservatives said they were holding 130 street stalls across Scotland.

Davidson said: “This is the biggest campaign day for a Scottish Parliament election we’ve ever had. From Stranraer to Shetland, local activists and supporters will be out and about talking to people with our key message – that only we can provide a strong opposition to the SNP.”