SNP plan to unseat Douglas Ross at general election after Tory leader's resignation announcement

dailyrecord.co.uk:

John Swinney has made unseating embattled Scots Tory leader Douglas Ross a top priority for the SNP election campaign.The SNP have upgraded Aberdeenshire North and Moray East to a “tier 1” target after Ross quit in the middle of the campaign.The First Minister will also kickstart his national tour in the seat tomorrow.Ross’ election campaign imploded last week when he made a u-turn by revealing plans to stand for Westminster again.The decision was hugely controversial as it came after party bosses blocked an ill candidate from standing in the North East seat.A revolt by colleagues and questions over his Westminster expenses led to him announcing he would quit after July 4th.Scottish Tory turmoil has led to the SNP rethinking their strategy for capturing the constituency.A party source said Aberdeenshire North and Moray East had been upgraded from a “tier 2” target after the resignation and expenses row.The Nationalists will pour extra cash into the seat and SNP candidate Seamus Logan will also benefit from more activists and campaign materials.Swinney is expected to campaign for Logan on Sunday in a direct challenge to Ross.The new seat has a narrow notional Tory majority, but SNP insiders say the constituency is in play.SNP MSP Keith Brown said: "Douglas Ross thinks he can treat the electorate with contempt.

He has betrayed a colleague, faced serious questions over his expenses and now wants to treat this election as a publicly funded lifeboat from his sinking ship of a career. "Well, all he has done is made *us* more determined than ever to take the SNP's message to the people of Aberdeenshire North & Moray East.