Labour targeting just three key seats in Scotland

Labour are targeting just three seats in Scotland, with the seat of Ian Murray MP being one of them. Picture; John Devlin

As a result of the campaign, Jeremy Corbyn will have to rely on winning seats from the Conservatives in England if he is to be the next Prime Minister.

The plan from Labour comes following reports in The Herald that the Conservatives are seeking to launch a strategy that would see them claim the seat of Angus Robertson, the SNP’s deputy leader.

His seat is one of the many the Conservatives are hoping to claim in June.

Ian Murray, Scotland's only Labour MP. Picture Steven Scott Taylor.

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Scottish Labour however aim to focus their limited resources mainly on seats where they could claim a victory.

Some of the majorities in their loss to the SNP two years ago saw majorities of over 10,000, making it all but impossible to reclaim seats.

Three constituencies in Scotland have been targeted by the party.

The Conservatives are optimistic about claiming the seat of Angus Robertson

Edinburgh South, the seat of Ian Murray who was the only Labour survivor in the 2015 wipeout which saw the party lose 40 of 41 seats, is aiming to maintain his seat .

Jim Murphy’s old seat, East Renfrewshire is also being targeted by the party with the SNP’s Kirsten Oswald having a majority of just 3,718. This week saw Blair MacDougall, the former Better Together chief, announced as the candidate in the area.

Labour are also confident of challenging for East Lothian, where SNP MP George Kerevan has a majority of 6,083

The latest YouGov poll is grim reading for the party however, indicating a 16 point gap between Labour and the Conservatives, despite Labour claiming some ground back.

Electoral Calculus, the political forecasting website, has predicted Labour will experience a complete wipe-out in Scotland with the SNP winning 46 seats, down 10 on 2015, the Tories winning 11, up 10, and the Liberal Democrats securing two, up one.

Another poll also suggested that the Tories would become the biggest party in Wales forcing some to question the tactic to only target a few seats in Scotland,

Speaking in The Herald, a Conservative source said they were confident of securing seats in Scotland, targeting key seats such as the Moray seat of Angus Robertson.

One poll last weekend suggested Ruth Davidson’s party would win 33 per cent of the vote, gaining a dozen seats.

The source said: “We believe we can put him under a great deal of pressure. He cannot hide from EU questions his party has been trying to dodge - do they want to be in the EU, in EFTA, have a referendum, etc, etc – in an area with such a strong Leave vote.”

Mr Robertson has hit back however stating that he was “looking forward” to defeating his Conservative opponent - for the third time in a row.

Speaking in Leeds, Theresa May said: “It may say Labour on the ballot but it’s Jeremy Corbyn that gets the vote.

“There are only two people who can possibly be Prime Minister on June 9; only two people who can possibly represent Britain in Europe. The choice is between five years of strong and stable leadership with me as Prime Minister or a coalition of chaos with Jeremy Corbyn at the helm, a weak leader negotiating Brexit and higher taxes, debt and waste.”

When promoting, Jeremy Corbyn told fans: “We’re eight days into the election campaign and the Tories have been reduced to personal name-calling. I’ve never been involved in that and never will be.”