Tories claim they could win 15 seats in Scotland at general election The Tories could win as many as 15 seats in Scotland at next month’s general election, according to the party’s […]

The Tories could win as many as 15 seats in Scotland at next month’s general election, according to the party’s own analysis of its recent performance at the polls.

Internal party data based on how Scotland voted at last week’s local government election claims that the party is poised to stage a remarkable comeback north of the border.

“We’re going to be fighting bloody hard in places that we perhaps haven’t targeted before” The i politics newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription. Ruth Davidson

It says Ruth Davidson’s party is currently ahead in 15 constituencies in Scotland and may defeat the SNP in parts of the country it previously regarded as unwinnable.

However, the SNP dismissed the data as “spin” and said it suggested the Tories were taking voters for granted.

The projections were calculated based on first preference votes cast at last week’s local elections, which the party believes is likely to reflect voting patterns on 8 June.

The data was broken down by council ward area, with wards that lie in multiple Westminster constituencies being removed to improve the accuracy of the data.

The analysis also suggests that the party is ahead in Edinburgh South, which is currently home to Labour’s only MP in Scotland, Ian Murray.

It shows that the Tories could be set to unseat SNP depute leader Angus Robertson in Moray.

More than 36 per cent of voters in the constituency chose the Tories as their first preference, while only 31 per cent backed the SNP, it claims.

Target seats

The Tories are also ahead in Perth & North Perthshire, earning 41 per cent of first preference votes compared to 32 per cent for the SNP.

The results suggest incumbent Pete Wishart could be in trouble.

Voters also backed the Tories in the Borders constituency of Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk, where first preference votes outstripped the SNP by 20 per cent.

The Tories have made this seat a key target, with John Lamont quitting his job as an MSP with the hope of overturning SNP MP Calum Kerr’s slim majority of 328.

Other seats in which the Tories are ahead include Aberdeen South, Angus, Central Ayrshire, Dumfries & Galloway, Edinburgh South West, East Renfrewshire and Stirling.

The Tories also earned more first preference votes than the SNP in Gordon, where the former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond is the incumbent MP.

Ms Davidson said the council election results had been “very encouraging” but that her party was taking “nothing for granted” ahead of the poll on 8 June.

Asked whether the Tories winning 15 seats was a “likely scenario”, the Scottish Tory leader insisted she never made predictions ahead of elections.

But she added: “We’re going to be fighting bloody hard in places that we perhaps haven’t targeted before at a general election.

“This is absolutely game on. The cliché is that it’s a two-horse race, but it really is, and we will be leading Scotland’s fightback against the SNP.”

She added that many Scots were angry that their Remain vote had been “assimilated” by the SNP and turned into a “proxy vote” for independence.

“The strength of feeling that’s out there at this election is so much stronger than I’ve come across at previous elections,” she said.

An SNP spokesman said: “The arrogant Tories can spin as much as they like, but the fact stands that the SNP won the election last week on a platform of protecting local services while Ruth Davidson’s party obsessed over the constitution and were roundly beaten.

“Voters across Scotland will take a dim view of arrogant Tories taking them for granted.

“Over the coming weeks SNP candidates will work hard to win the trust of voters and show that we are the only party standing up for Scotland.”