RUTH Davidson has urged voters to back Scottish Conservative candidate for Gordon and Buchan Harriet Cross at next week’s General Election during a visit to Aberdeenshire.
The former Scottish Conservative leader joined the local campaign in Ellon to hear about issues such as dualling the A90 north of the town, supporting the oil and gas industry and safeguarding local healthcare as she appealed to voters to elect Ms Cross.
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Gordon and Buchan is set to be one of the closest contested seats in Scotland and Ms Davidson called on residents to vote for Ms Cross who will focus on the priorities that matter to the constituency.
Ms Davidson spoke to Ellon residents during her visit and accompanied Ms Cross to the A90 at the Toll of Birness to hear about its dangers following the Scottish Government’s failure to dual the road as promised by the then-First Minister Alex Salmond in 2007.
Ruth Davidson said: “It was great to be out in Ellon with Harriet, who would make a fantastic MP for Gordon and Buchan.
“Unlike the SNP and their obsession with independence, Harriet is focussed on the issues that matter to local people, from backing oil and gas workers, to healthcare improvements and road upgrades such as the A90 and A96.
“She also knows the importance of promoting and protecting our farmers to ensure they can continue to produce high-quality food that the North East is renowned for.
“In Gordon and Buchan, like many other seats across the country, it’s a straight fight between the Scottish Conservatives and an independence-obsessed SNP, which has no interest in, or understanding of Aberdeenshire.
“Voters who are sick and tired of their priorities being ignored by the SNP must unite behind the Scottish Conservatives next Thursday to ensure Scotland elects MPs who will champion their area, rather than the break-up of the UK.”
It comes as new figures from the Scottish Government, obtained by North East MSP Liam Kerr, show 14 collisions have occurred at the Toll of Birness junction resulting in injuries since 2010.
The statistics also show 55% of these were down to drivers “failing to look properly” while 45% included the “failure to judge another person’s path or speed” as a contributory factor. Other reasons for the collisions included “vehicle blind spot”, “poor turn or manoeuvre” and “loss of control”.
Scottish Conservative candidate for Gordon and Buchan, Harriet Cross, said: “It was excellent to have Ruth out on the doorsteps with me speaking to local people in Ellon.
“I’ve set out positive pledges to fully deliver on the key issues that matter to Gordon and Buchan residents such as protecting oil and gas workers, safeguarding local healthcare, helping our key food and farming sectors, and focussing on vital road upgrades.
“It was therefore great to have Ruth accompany me to the A90 Toll of Birness where she saw first-hand the dangers caused by the SNP government’s refusal to dual the road as first promised in 2007. I also spoke of the continuing work of my colleague, councillor Gillian Owen’s Why Stop at Ellon campaign.
“We will only be able to focus on these top local priorities if we keep out the SNP candidate, who we know would focus on independence ahead of all the local issues like these that people really care about.”
