Could a pact between Scottish Labor and the Conservatives oust the SNP?

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The idea of ​​Labor and Tory strategists working together in the next general election - plotting over tactics and where to place their resources - sounds like an SNP line of attack .

< p>Indeed, the SNP used it as a line of attack. Nationalists have scoffed at recent reports of an election pact north of the border such as a Better Together group meeting that saw Unionists team up for the 2014 independence referendum.

But it's an idea Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross is determined to push. He appears ready to challenge Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives' Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) by arguing for tactical voting.

Mr. Ross said on Sunday that Scottish voters should "do what is best for the country" to help loosen the nationalists' grip on power north of the border.

He said said The Telegraph: “If the parties maybe look beyond their own narrow party platform and do what is best for the country…it would be better if we see that this grip that the SNP has on Scotland at the moment is loose."< /p>

A Westminster Tory spokesman insisted the tactical vote was "absolutely" not the view of the left. And Scottish Labor has ruled out the idea of ​​a 'union pact', saying the 2024 election was a move to get rid of the Tories and send a message to the SNP.

So what will Mr. Ross play at? Scottish Conservative sources have floated the idea of ​​a 'smart vote' which would gently encourage supporters of various Unionist parties to opt for the best candidate to defeat the SNP.

While Labor may have be the best chance of winning seats in the central urban belt that stretches from Glasgow to Edinburgh, the Tories believe they are best placed to win more rural constituencies, where Labour's appeal remains limited.

The Scottish Tories' main targets are believed to include Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock in the South West and Angus and Gordon in the North East, although boundary changes could change the party's calculus.

Grilled on the strategy on Sunday, Mr Ross suggested it really was a shrewd plan to encourage Labor and Liberal Democrat voters to hold their noses and support the Tories in rural Scotland.

The Scottish Conservative leader told GB News that voting for his party would, in some places, be the best way for Unionist voters to end the 'decade of division' and obsession with the SNP for a second ind...