Will the Tories manage to hold on to rural Scotland?

South of the border, a Labour majority is a foregone conclusion. Yet in Scotland, in almost all 57 seats, contests are predicted to be tight. ‘Knife-edge,’ is the phrase heard on repeat, most recently from First Minister John Swinney. While the Scottish central belt has drawn intense interest – given polls have consistently suggested there will be a Labour resurgence with even Glasgow looking to turn red – rural Scotland has received a little less attention. Sir Keir Starmer’s party is less a player, with key battlegrounds here a race between the SNP and the Tories.

There is a long held Scottish narrative that boasts Scotland is more left-leaning than the rest of the UK – and yet it is the one part of Britain where polls have suggested the Tories might actually make gains. The Scottish Conservatives are vying to hold onto their six constituencies – with optimists hoping the party may even pick up MPs on polling day.