Nicola Sturgeon urges SNP vote '˜for public services'

Nicola Sturgeon is prioritising public services and community investment as she takes the SNP election campaign to a key constituency.

Nicola Sturgeon has inisisted a vote for the SNP is a vote for public services.

The First Minister will be in East Renfrewshire on Friday with party candidate Kirsten Oswald, who defeated then Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy in the constituency in 2015.

The former campaign director of Better Together during the 2014 independence referendum, Blair McDougall, will contest the seat for Scottish Labour this year while Paul Masterton is the Conservative candidate.

Ms Sturgeon said only her party “can stand up to the Tories”.

“The truth is the more Tory MPs Westminster has, the heavier the price Scotland will pay,” Scotland’s First Minister said.

“This cruel and damaging agenda has been created by a Tory government with a narrow majority, imagine what they could achieve if they succeeded in their aim of crushing all parliamentary opposition.

“A free hand for the Tories would mean even more cuts, more attacks on low income families and a hard Brexit.

“The SNP is the only party that can stand up to the Tories, and working with the Scottish parliament SNP MPs will fight these devastating policies.