Tories launch new campaign aimed at keeping Scotland in the UK

Scottish Conservatives have marked the anniversary of the independence referendum by launching a new campaign to keep the country in the UK – with leader Russell Findlay vowing to “send a strong message” to the SNP.

It comes 12 years to the day after Scots voted to stay part of the United Kingdom in the 2014 referendum.

Deputy first minister Jenny Gilruth insisted on Friday that her party is “confident we will win” if a second ballot takes place.

The renewed focus on Scotland’s place in the UK comes in the wake of a summit between First Minister John Swinney and the leaders of both Sinn Féin and Plaid Cymru earlier this week, where they declared jointly that the time of Westminster rule is “coming to an end”.

Speaking in Holyrood on Thursday, the SNP leader predicted there would be another Scottish independence referendum before the end of this current parliamentary term in 2031.

Findlay, however, insisted the referendum in 2014 had been “the largest act of democracy in our country’s history”, adding that in that vote “more than two million Scots rejected the SNP’s bid to break up Britain”.

He added that Swinney’s “attendance at the separatist summit in Cardiff confirms that the threat to our country has not diminished”.

Accusing the SNP leader of “forming a morally repugnant pact with Sinn Féin”, the Tory declared: “It’s time for the people of Scotland to make their voices heard again.”

Findlay said: “I would urge all those proud Scots who value our place at the heart of a strong United Kingdom to back our campaign.

“They can tell Swinney to focus on fixing public services and bringing down bills rather than obsessing over independence.”

He added: “In today’s increasingly dangerous and volatile world, the last thing Scotland needs is more division, distraction and uncertainty.

“The Scottish Conservative and Unionist party will always stand up for Scotland’s place in the union and our campaign will send a strong message to the SNP.”

Gilruth argued that a new generation of Scots who were too young to vote in 2014 must now be given their say on the issue.

An estimated one million Scottish voters will fall into this category by 2029, she said.

Gilruth said: “Twelve years ago today, Scotland went to the polls in the first independence referendum.

“It was a time of genuine hope and optimism that inspired countless people across the country.

“Our focus now is on the next referendum – one that we intend to hold in this parliamentary term and one we intend to win.”

Prime Minister Andy Burnham had appeared to give ground on the issue recently, but later clarified to insist that another referendum is “off limits”.

Gilruth said: “In this parliamentary term, by 2029, it is estimated we have over a million young people become eligible to vote who were not old enough to make their voice heard in 2014.

“By 2030, we are going to see people eligible to vote who were not even born in 2014.”

She insisted that “no Westminster politician had the right to look those young people in the eye and tell them that they cannot decide their own future”.

The deputy first minister continued: “With support for independence growing, the most pro-independence MSPs in the history of our Parliament and an acceptance of the need for constitutional change in all corners of these islands, the momentum behind Scotland’s right to decide is clear.”