Tories aim to step up pressure on SNP in 'knife-edge' marginals in final days of campaign

A new advert focusing on Nicola Sturgeon has been launched by the Scottish Conservatives, as the party hopes it opposition to a second independence referendum will swing key marginals for its candidates.

Jackson Carlaw is targeting voters in "knife-edge" seats.

The party's interim leader, Jackson Carlaw, said that voters should "have their say" on the SNP's plans to hold a second vote on independence - and "pro-UK" voters in "knife-edge" seats needed to "come together".

Launching an ad van in Glasgow, which shows a black and white photo of the First Minister delivering a speech alongside the words "She's had her say, now have yours", Mr Carlaw said that it was time to stop the "relentless attempt to drag the country back to another divisive second independence referendum."

However, today the SNP urged voters to "team up" to "lock Boris Johnson out of Downing Street, escape Brexit and protect our NHS".

Both parties were stepping up campaigning with just two full days’ to go before voting begins on Thursday.

He said: “Nicola Sturgeon has had her say during this election campaign. She’s said she’d prop up Jeremy Corbyn in Number 10, despite his unsuitability for the job. She’s made clear she’ll demand a second independence referendum as early as Friday. She has said she wants to hold that referendum next year, dragging us back to yet more division.

“She has had her say, on Thursday we can have ours. We can say no to a second independence referendum, we can say no to more division, and we can make Nicola Sturgeon listen for once.”

He added: “In 2017, people came together and backed the Scottish Conservatives. It hit the SNP hard and, as a result, we forced Nicola Sturgeon to put indyref2 on hold. We need to tell her again and halt the Nationalists in their tracks.

“Across Scotland, this election is on a knife edge. A few hundred voters could make all the difference. So this week, I am urging all pro-UK voters in Scotland to come together and back us. We are the only party with the strength and resolve to beat the SNP, and stop that referendum for good.”

Nicola Sturgeon, who is due to campaign in Coatbridge, Lanark & Hamilton East and Rutherglen today, Nicola Sturgeon said: “Whatever your traditional party colours there is only one way, across Scotland, to defeat Boris Johnson and that is to vote SNP.

“This election is too important to let traditional party politics get in the way of stopping Boris Johnson getting into number 10. We know that in the 13 Tory held seats across the country, every SNP vote will count when it comes to getting the Tories out of office, and stopping Boris Johnson becoming prime minister."

She added: “A vote for the SNP can deliver protection for the NHS, support for Scotland’s economy, an escape from Brexit – but perhaps most importantly in this election, it can prevent Boris Johnson getting back into government Labour and the Lib Dems are too far behind to beat the Tories so it’s time for Scotland to team up and vote SNP to block a Boris Johnson."

East Lothian a "knife-edge" seat

Scottish Labour also today said one of the seats it is defending, East Lothian, is also on a knife-edge. New polling data has revealed just 0.2 percentage points between the SNP and Labour. Former Scottish Government minister Kenny MacAskill is hoping to win the seat back for the SNP from Labour's Martin Whitfield.

Seat-by-seat analysis of 28,272 British adults, carried out between November 4 and December 5 by Focaldata for Best for Britain found that in East Lothian the SNP is on 32.5 per cent and Labour is on 32.3 per cent, with the Tories on 25.5 per cent.