Ruth Davidson: Don’t reward SNP failure at council elections

Voters must not reward the SNP for “failure”, Ruth Davidson has warned ahead of Thursday’s council elections.

The former Scottish Conservative leader urged pro-UK voters to hold the SNP to account on May 5.

Ms Davidson said First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is treating Scots as “fools” over the ferries scandal, which has engulfed the SNP in recent weeks.

The Scottish Government has been criticised by opposition parties over significant delays and overspends on new ferries being built at the Ferguson shipyard, Inverclyde.

The party is accused of failing to supply significant documentation around the ferries’ contract – which the Government has previously denied.

Ms Davidson, who has been supporting Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross on the campaign trail, said: “The failing record of Nicola Sturgeon and her candidates is on the ballot paper this Thursday.

“They’ve left Glasgow filthier than ever before. They’ve left drug deaths to spiral in Dundee. They’ve got plans to make it unbelievably expensive to drive to work in our capital city.

“Don’t reward the SNP for failure. Get out to the polls on Thursday and teach them a lesson.

“Scotland is worse off now than when the SNP came to power. They’re dragging our country down every year that they run our councils and our Government.

“Yet the SNP are more arrogant and complacent than ever before.

“The ferries scandal shows that Nicola Sturgeon thinks she can get away with treating the Scottish public as fools.

“On Thursday, hold the SNP to account for taking their eye off the ball. Vote Scottish Conservative for local action on local issues.”

A spokesman for the SNP said: “One session on the doors would tell the Tories all they need to know about the public’s view of their party.

“If the Tories put half as much effort into lobbying Boris Johnson to act on the cost-of-living crisis as they did firing insults at the SNP, they might not be slipping into third place in the polls.”