Nicola Sturgeon: Voters need SNP to stand up for Scotland

Nicola Sturgeon has said Scottish voters face a 'straightforward choice' in the General Election between the SNP or Conservative MPs who will 'rubber-stamp' the Prime Minster's hard Brexit and austerity policies.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

The SNP leader said Theresa May would win the election and the SNP would “stand up for Scotland” at Westminster while the Tories would follow the Prime Minister.

Ms Sturgeon started the first full week of campaigning at Inveralmond Brewery in Perth with local SNP MP Pete Wishart, where she practised pulling pints.

Despite gains for the Tories and SNP losses on Perth and Kinross Council at the local elections, Ms Sturgeon said she is “very confident” Mr Wishart will be re-elected and claimed the council election results are a “huge springboard for the SNP going into this election”.

She said: “The issue at the heart of this election, not just in Perth and Perthshire but across Scotland, is a very straightforward one.

“Tory MPs from Scotland will be a rubber-stamp for Theresa May, for her reckless approach to Brexit and the cuts we know the Tories will want to impose.

“SNP MPs like Pete Wishart will be MPs that go to Westminster to stand up for Scotland, make Scotland’s voice heard and protect Scotland’s interests.

“For the next few years, perhaps more than ever before, Scotland needs strong voices to stand up and make our voice heard.

“We know from the polls in England that Theresa May is going to win this election, the question is who is going to stand up and make Scotland’s voice heard?”

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson has challenged her party to redouble efforts over the next month, saying it faces a “massive” fight against an “all-powerful SNP”.

She said: “Across Scotland, it’s a two-horse race. Across Scotland, we also know people are looking for somebody to stand up to the SNP.

“So, our challenge is this - it’s to bring the SNP down to size. To show they can’t take Scotland for granted.

“To show that we, the Scottish Conservatives, can lead Scotland’s fightback against the SNP.”

Speaking ahead of her campaign launch in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said: “The council elections showed people are turning away from the SNP, because they are fed up with the nationalists’ attempt to force another divisive referendum.

“In seats like Rutherglen and Hamilton West, and in most areas across Scotland, it’s a two-horse race between Labour and the SNP.

“The only way to stop the nationalists is to vote Labour.

“The Tories are the party of the ‘rape clause’ and hard Brexit.

“Voting Tory doesn’t send a message to Nicola Sturgeon - it sends Theresa May back to Downing Street.”

Lib Dem leader Tim Farron brought his campaign bus to Scotland on Monday and said the choice was between electing the SNP as “cheerleaders for independence” at Westminster or his party, which would oppose independence and a hard Brexit, and fight for cash for mental health and education.