SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson ‘set to lose seat to Tories’ The SNP’s depute leader Angus Robertson is poised to lose his Westminster seat to the Conservatives at the general election, […]

The SNP’s depute leader Angus Robertson is poised to lose his Westminster seat to the Conservatives at the general election, according to a new poll.

The MP for Moray is forecast to be one of seven SNP casualties in June as Scottish voters turn to the Tories instead, the YouGov survey for the Times newspaper shows.

“These figures show that people are putting their faith in the Scottish Conservatives right across Scotland” 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. Miles Briggs MSP

Losing Moray would be a major embarrassment for the SNP, as Mr Robertson is one of the party’s most high-profile figures at Westminster.

As leader of the party’s group at the House of Commons, he has been credited with providing robust opposition to Theresa May at Prime Minister’s Questions each week.

However, the Tories have made Moray one of its target seats in Scotland as almost half of the constituency voted Leave at last year’s EU referendum – putting many voters at odds with Mr Robertson and the SNP on the issue of Europe.

Mr Robertson currently has a majority of 9,065 – but the YouGov poll suggests a major swing towards the Tories could be in the offing.

Support for SNP slipping

The survey suggests the party could win 28 per cent of the vote in Scotland, up from the 15 per cent it achieved in 2015 when it won only one seat north of the border.

If it records such a result, the Tories could win eight Westminster seats, gaining seven from the SNP and retaining David Mundell’s hold on Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale.

The poll suggests the Conservatives will win West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Aberdeen South, Perth and North Perthshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Moray, Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk and East Renfrewshire. All are currently held by the SNP.

It also suggests that support for the SNP has slipped from 50 per cent in 2015 to 41 per cent, giving Nicola Sturgeon’s party 47 seats at Westminster, nine fewer than it achieved at the last election.

Under Scottish leader Ruth Davidson, the Tories have won over new voters by playing up their pro-Union credentials, a tactic which worked well at last year’s Scottish Parliament election.

The poll also shows that 51 per cent of Scots oppose a second referendum on independence despite Ms Sturgeon’s campaign to hold a re-run of 2014’s vote in the wake of the Brexit result.

However, the SNP insists that winning more than half of the popular vote and most of the seats in Scotland at the election will strengthen its mandate for another referendum.

The poll suggests that Labour will continue to struggle in Scotland, merely retaining its single seat north of the border, but there is better news for the Liberal Democrats, who stand to win three seats.

“These figures show that people are putting their faith in the Scottish Conservatives right across Scotland,” said Miles Briggs, the Scottish Tory candidate in Edinburgh South West.