Humza Yousaf, First Minister of Scotland, attends his first cabinet meeting as polls show a drop in support for the SNP. Photo: Russell Cheyne/Pennsylvania
Humza Yousaf faces a Unionist movement in ticks in the next general election as Scottish Conservatives plan to relentlessly target rural voters, leaving Labor free to reclaim their former urban strongholds.
Senior Conservative Strategists believe the election of Mr Yusuf as First Minister and the continuation of the Nationalist pact with the far-left Scottish Greens gives the party a «big opportunity» to increase the number of its six Scottish MPs.
While insiders on Monday played down claims that there would be a formal Labor alliance with Labour, they admitted they did not plan to campaign in constituencies where Sir Keir Starmer's party is the SNP's main rival.
Instead, they are planning a massive charm offensive targeting rural areas, unveiling new policies and siphoning resources to key target locations held by the SNP.
The plans come after Mr. Yousaf faced a series of disastrous polls days after he replaced Nicola Sturgeon as first minister last week.
Humza Yousaf has faced a series of failed polls since becoming First Minister. the weekend predicted that the SNP would lose 18 seats in the next general election expected to take place next year, with Labor now just six points behind the Nationalists.
A separate poll by Panelbase showed the SNP would win 34 Westminster seats, down 14 from Ms Sturgeon in 2019.
Get SNP support
The poll also showed that less than one in five voters — 19 per cent — were confident that Mr Yousaf would improve the performance of the Scottish government. This is compared to 51 percent who said they were unsure about the new SNP leader.
The decline in support for the SNP is widely seen as benefiting Scottish Labor to a large extent. However, the Tories believe that despite little progress in voting intentions, they could also reap the benefits of Ms Sturgeon's departure.
One source argued that by targeting rural voters, the party could repeat its success in the 2017 election when Scotland was the only part of the UK where the Conservatives were successful, keeping Theresa May in 10th place.
Declining SNP trend in polls
A similar result could see Rishi Sunak stay in power thanks to Scottish Conservative seats, they said.
«We think it's wrong to say that only Labor will benefit from the SNP riots,» a Conservative source said. «We are going to prove that we are the only party that understands and will defend rural Scotland.
none of them would support a Conservative prime minister.
«We're not going to run out of steam where we don't stand a chance. Our resources will go towards getting the seats we know we can win.»
Mr Yousaf MP from Glasgow, resident in Dundee, according to the Tories, has no connection with rural Scotland.
Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labor Party, is considered a figure which makes the best use of Yusaf's low poll ratings.Photo: Alamy
A number of Greens-backed Scottish government policies, such as new maritime protection zones that will effectively ban fishing, will be relentlessly attacked by the Tories.
Kate Forbes, one of the most prominent SNP figures from rural Scotland, left last week government after she turned down a demotion to minister of rural affairs.
The maritime policy she opposes was the main reason she felt she could not fulfill the role.
Rachel Hamilton, Scottish Tory spokesperson for rural affairs, said: «The fact that the rural affairs brief was used as a political ploy to make Kate Forbes take a backseat tells you everything you need to know about Humza Yusaf's interest in rural affairs.» Scotland.
«The rural communities have been failing this SNP government consistently for 16 years, but under Humza Yousaf it looks set to accelerate — he hugs the Greens tighter than even Nicola Sturgeon.»
< p>“At our conference this month, we will present new policies and ideas to show that the Scottish Conservatives are a party focused on the real priorities of rural communities. We are the protectors of rural Scotland.»
Call unionists to vote Labor
Reports surfaced on Monday that the Tories would encourage Unionist voters to support Labor in some constituencies in a bid to «end Nationalist dominance».
p>
Instead, the Conservatives will focus on keeping the six seats they already have and on the rural counties it believes could benefit from the SNP, such as Gordon, Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, as well as Angus.
< p>Stephen Kerr, the Scottish Tory education spokesman, did not rebut the claim on Monday, saying members of the population «know how to vote to get rid of this Nationalist government.»
Asked what Mr Sunak would think of the Scottish Tories urging voters to support Labor, Mr Kerr said: «The Prime Minister, like all Conservatives, is committed to the idea that we put our country first.»< /p>
Mr Yousaf is likely to face an early test of his popularity with voters as by-elections are set to take place in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, a key Labor target, as disgraced MP Margaret Ferrier is likely to be ousted.
Stephen Flynn, leader of the SNP in Westminster, said the ballot tactics reports represent «a terrible Better Together group announcing their reunion.»
Mr Flynn said: «None of the Westminster parties even pretend to care about the interests of Scotland anymore.»
«Frankly, it's hard to tell the difference between Tories and Labor . “The Labor Party, pro-Brexit, pro-cuts, anti-Scottish democracy, is a pale imitation of the Tory right.”
Scottish Labor has rejected the prospect of a tactical electoral pact.
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