THE Conservative and SNP candidates for North Ayrshire and Arran have clashed again as the dial is turned up on General Election campaigning in the area.

Conservative candidate Todd Ferguson gave his full backing to his party's five key priorities for the area ahead of polling day - and said he was "fully focused" on the "real challenges" facing people in the constituency.

He claimed the SNP wants to make the Westminster election "all about independence".

But his SNP rival Patricia Gibson hit back - insisting, not for the first time, that Mr Ferguson's priorities, and those of his party, are all within the power of the Scottish Parliament, and therefore he'll be in no position to fulfil them if he's elected.

Mr Ferguson said: “Humza Yousaf has already promised that page one, line one of the SNP’s manifesto will be “Vote SNP, for an independent Scotland."

The Conservatives' manifesto for the area mentions repairing and upgrading key roads in the area; recruiting 1,000 more GPs and 1,000 extra police officers across Scotland; restoring standards in North Ayrshire and Arran's schools; and cutting taxes for workers.

 

Mr Ferguson said island connectivity and ferries would also be at the heart of his campaign.

 

He said: “These are the day-to-day issues that people are raising with me, not the SNP’s obsession with independence.

“Voters in North Ayrshire and Arran can send Humza Yousaf a message by voting for the Scottish Conservatives to get the focus onto your real priorities and take Scotland forward."

But Ms Gibson responded: “Once again, Mr Ferguson seems to think that voters are daft and won’t realise that each of the issues he raised are devolved to Holyrood, not the Parliament for which he is standing.

 “Even in that context, promises of ‘24 additional police officers for North Ayrshire’ ring hollow. The deployment of police officers anywhere in Scotland is a matter for the Chief Constable, as laid out in the Police (Scotland) Act 1967, not politicians.

 “The Tories cut over 20,000 police officers in England and Wales.

"As for ‘recruiting 1,000 more GPs’, a medical degree takes five years, after which newly-qualified doctors must be trained, which takes a further three.

“Tory cuts year on year to Scotland’s budget mean that ‘pledges’ such as those made by Mr Ferguson must be paid for. Needless to say, the Tories made not a single amendment to the Scottish budget on February 28, proposing funding for more police officers, GPs or anything else. 

"As for cutting taxes, none of Mr Ferguson’s pledges are costed, whilst the Chancellor’s budget means the UK is heading for a general election with taxes at their highest level since 1948 and living standards squeezed.

“The UK economy is broken, and the damaging UK budget cuts will make it even worse by failing to properly invest in green energy, taking the UK into recession and putting up to 100,000 jobs at risk in Scotland’s energy sector."

And she asked: “Is Mr Ferguson simply rehearsing his lines for the next Scottish Parliament election, where he hopes to replace his Tory rival Jamie Greene MSP on the West Scotland regional list?”