Rishi Sunak meets RAF personnel at Lossiemouth in Moray Photo: Geoff J. Mitchell/WPA Pool/Getty Images
Prime the minister said he was “very confident” the Tories would do well in Scotland at the next general election, despite a slump in the polls.
Rishi Sunak said he was not concerned the Tories might be destroyed north of Scotland. border, losing all six seats they gained in the 2019 elections.
He said the party plans to “continue to make the case” for the “clear” contrast between its focus on domestic issues that concern voters. on issues such as the NHS and the economy, and the SNP ignores them.
He accused the SNP of “sadly failing its children” after Scottish pupils received record low scores in reading, maths and science in a major international study earlier this month.
In contrast, he said schools in England were “rising up the league tables” of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which assessed abilities of 700,000 15-year-old schoolchildren around the world.
Recent polls have shown Tory support has fallen. to around 17 percent in Scotland, potentially enough to retain their six seats.
Falling Nationalist support
Conservative insiders are hoping they can pick up a couple more seats from the Scottish National Party thanks to falling Nationalist support since then , as Humza Yousaf succeeded Nicola Sturgeon as leader.
However, Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Tories, and Alistair Jack, Scottish Secretary, are leaving the House of Commons at the next election for their seats of Moray, Dumfries and Galloway.
Mr Sunak said he was concerned about whether he was concerned the Tories would be wiped out in Scotland: “No, they're not actually like that.
“We remain very confident both in what we achieve and deliver in Scotland and in the response we are receiving from people on the ground. I think people here are responding very well to the attention of Douglas and his team.”
The SNP is “sadly letting children down”
He highlighted the “incredibly important” PISA results, “where you have seen Scotland, to is sadly letting its children down while schools in England are moving up the league tables.”
Referring to the National Insurance cuts announced in the autumn, he said in a statement: “So this is what the Scottish Conservatives are offering people in Scotland, focusing on the issues that they care about, whether it's their schools, whether it's their hospitals, whether it's the economy, and We have a government of the Scottish National Party (SNP). it's not focused on all these things.
“And I think that contrast is very clear. And we will continue to repeat that message every day until the next election.”
Lossiemouth BBC is 'incredibly important'
Mr Sunak said he wanted to visit RAF Lossiemouth in Moray before Christmas to “express my personal gratitude” to Armed Forces personnel stationed north of the border for their “inspiring” dedication and professionalism.
He said Scotland was an “incredibly important part of our armed forces”, with more than 10,000 personnel based.
He said RAF Lossiemouth was “a very important part of the local economy and it's important, right, that I'm here to personally say thank you to them for what they do for us.”
Dame Jackie Bailey, Scottish Labour's deputy leader, said: “Mr Sunak's desperate response shows how out of touch he is with reality.” The Tories are truly for Scotland.
“After 13 years of Tory rule and 16 years of the Scottish National Party, Scots have seen their bills and mortgages soar, their economy shrink and the NHS fall into chaos.”
Stephen Flynn, leader of the Scottish National Party at Westminster, said: “Scotland has not voted Tory since 1955, and in every Scottish Tory seat the Scottish National Party is best positioned to get rid of them.
> “We want a fairer, more equal and more prosperous country, but the Tories' actions run counter to this – whether it's cutting taxes for the rich while families struggle to heat their homes, or arguing among themselves about how best to punish those who flee here from war and persecution.”
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