Scottish Conservatives say postal vote website redirecting to SNP is 'duping voters'

The domain name ‘postalvote.scot’ redirecting to the SNP’s own website has been criticised by the Scottish Conservatives as an attempt to “dupe voters”.

The page on the SNP website which postalvote.scot redirects to

The criticism comes after social media users highlighted the fact the website redirected people to the SNP’s own website after someone bought the domain in December.

It has led to accusations the party is not “playing fair” around the election.

Google’s algorithms mean the SNP’s website now appears high up in search results for those seeking to find out more about getting a postal vote ahead of the Holyrood elections in May.

Miles Briggs, the Scottish Conservatives’ chief whip, said there was “more of a whiff of murkiness” about the exercise.

He said: “The SNP appear determined to turn Scotland into a one-party state. They are blatantly trying to blur the lines between party and official election resources.

“Those at the top of the SNP have serious questions to answer about this shady approach. It has more of a whiff of murkiness about it. It’s a shameless attempt to try and dupe voters.

“The nationalists should explain why they think this misdirection is acceptable.”

The move follows a similar exercise by the UK Conservatives ahead of the 2019 general election when it purchased the domain ‘labourmanifesto.co.uk’ and used it to set up a spoof website criticising then-leader Jeremy Corbyn.

An SNP spokesperson said: "Two million people may vote by post in May, so we've made applying as simple as possible.

"Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, postal voting is the safest option."

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