The Tory campaign to wrestle the Moray seat at the general election has been launched this week in Lossiemouth with a call for the ‘silent majority’ to back their candidate Douglas Ross.
Fochabers/Lhanbryde councillor Ross was a leader of the ‘Better Together’ campaign in Moray which ultimately delivered a 58% No vote in the Scottish Independence referendum last year.
Now he believes that the majority who chose to reject what he called the “SNP obsession” should make their voice heard again by rejecting an SNP MP.
He said: “The referendum result showed that the great majority of people in Moray reject the SNP’s obsession with breaking up the United Kingdom.
“Nearly 37,000 of us voted No in Moray. We are the silent majority and we should make our voice heard.
“Unfortunately Mr Salmond and the SNP do not seem able to take no for an answer. As the best-placed candidate to beat the SNP in Moray I am appealing to all voters who reject independence to lend me their support.”
Supporting Douglas at the campaign launch was Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who said: “Douglas would make a wonderful MP for Moray.
“He was born and brought up in Moray and his performance on Moray Council shows that he is highly effective advocate for local people. We need people like Douglas at Westminster who can play a positive role.
“The SNP clearly intend to sow as much division between the people of Scotland and the people of the rest of the UK as they can. Let’s reject that prospect just as we rejected it in September.”
Earlier in the day Ms Davidson had joined Mr Ross and local Conservative activists canvassing in Fochabers.
She added: “We had a very encouraging reception in Fochabers. People clearly appreciate the work Douglas has done on their behalf as their local councillor and would like to see him representing them at Westminster.
“I think Douglas’s personal vote could make a real difference in Moray, a constituency which has always been a two-horse race between the Conservatives and SNP.”
Also contesting the May 7 election in Moray is Angus Robertson for the SNP, Sean Morton for Scottish Labour and James MacKessack-Leitch for the Scottish Greens.