Humza Yousaf has set his sights on ousting all six Tory MPs north of the border in the upcoming general election.
The First Minister, who is struggling to retain 2019 SNP voters as Scots flock to Labour, is expected to tell activists he can deliver a “Tory-free Scotland”.
A swing of less than five per cent is needed to wipeout all six Conservative MPs north of the border.
However, recent opinion polls suggest the SNP looks set to lose seats across Scotland.
SNP leader and First Minister Humza Yousaf wants to deliver a 'Tory-free Scotland'
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Support is dropping for the SNP following a series of mishaps, including Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation and subsequent police investigation into party finances.
Despite Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suggesting Britons will not go to the polls until the second half of the year, Yousaf looks poised to launch the SNP’s general election campaign in Glasgow later today.
He is expected to say: “The first step we take towards a brighter future must be to kick the Tories out.”
Yousaf added: “I am setting an ambition for the SNP to wipe the Tories from Scotland’s electoral map by winning all six of those Tory seats.
“That is a big ask – but I don’t believe you go into elections unless you are willing to be ambitious.
“It’s also the case that in more than half of the SNP-held seats, it is the Tories who are in second place.
“So to people right across the country, our message will be very clear – vote SNP for a Tory-free Scotland.”
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Rishi Sunak in Scotland with a protester in the background
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The Conservatives have not been the largest party north of the border since Anthony Eden’s victory in 1955.
Tony Blair helped lead the Tory wipeout in Scotland in 1997, with Sir John Major losing all 11 seats to fall into fourth place.
It took some time for Scots to trust the Conservative Party again as Theresa May drastically increased the number of Tories elected to the Commons from one to 13.
The Conservative Party had leapfrogged Labour as the SNP’s main opposition in Holyrood and Westminster.
However, a surge in support for Sir Keir Stamer’s Labour Party could propel them back to the glory days.
One recent poll found the SNP is on course to lose up to 33 of the 48 seats it won at the 2019 general election in this year’s contest.
Keir Starmer is leading a Labour revival north of the border
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Labour had been reduced to just one seat in Scotland in 2015 and 2019.
However, before the SNP’s 56 seat landslide in 2015, Labour held a clear majority of seats north of the border.
Despite nationwide support for the Tories dropping and Labour’s lead hitting around 20-points, Scottish Conservatives believe they can retain existing seats at the election and even win others from the SNP in rural places.
Craig Hoy, the Scottish Tory chairman, said: “The Scottish public are sick and tired of the independence-obsessed ignoring their real priorities.
“Voters know that the only way to shift the focus onto the issues that matter to them – and shut the door on Humza Yousaf’s independence plan for good – is to unseat SNP MPs.
“And, as Humza Yousaf points out, in swathes of constituencies across the country, only the Scottish Conservatives can do that.”
