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Tens of thousands of Scots have learned how to vote tactically to oust the SNP following the Scotland in Union campaign with the Mail’s linked guide to block party hopefuls from Holyrood.
The pro-Union group revealed that its specially created website informing people which candidate to back to prevent Nationalists from winning seats has been accessed 35,000 times since it was launched just 12 days ago.
It comes as an estimated two in five voters are open to being tactical in the ballot box, with less than a fortnight until polling stations open their doors.
Scotland in Union’s tactical voting website lets users enter their postcode to see which of their constituency candidates is most likely to defeat the SNP.
The organisation recently worked with the Mail on a comprehensive guide to how pro-UK voters can stop another Nationalist victory next month. However, it lets the voter ultimately decide which party to back.
More than half of Scotland’s 73 constituencies are considered ‘marginal’, meaning there is less than five percentage points between the two biggest parties, according to a poll by More in Common.
This is not the first time Scotland in Union, which says it has become ‘the largest pro-UK voice in Scotland’ since its formation in 2015, has run an online resource for Unionist voters.
It said that in the 2024 general election, a similar platform ‘correctly called every single Scottish seat at Westminster in terms of who was the best pro-UK alternative’.
Staff check ballot papers in Glasgow at the general election in 2024
Alastair Cameron, chairman of Scotland in Union, said: ‘At every major election, Scots come to us to ask how best to stop the SNP.
‘We need a government that focuses on the most important matters of the day – health, education and the economy. That’s why Scots need to vote tactically to ensure we are not landed with yet another SNP government which will care about independence – and nothing else.’
The latest polling suggests the SNP will fall short of an outright majority and could fail to secure a pro-independence majority.
An analysis of a Survation poll this week projected 57 seats to the SNP – down from 64 – and 21 for Reform UK. Labour is on course for 18 seats, the Scottish Conservatives 13, the Greens 11 and the Lib Dems 9.
Just days ago, John Swinney caused controversy by saying he was open to working with Sinn Fein to boost his efforts to achieve Scottish independence. He has insisted a majority of pro-independence MSPs at Holyrood would signal a referendum before the decade is out.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton reminded voters what was at stake and said: ‘Let me be straight with you. You have two votes.
‘In many constituencies like Strathkelvin & Bearsden, Argyll & Bute and Inverness & Nairn, we are on the verge of winning against the SNP, but wherever you are, every vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats on the second peach ballot will deliver change with fairness at its heart.’
Last night SNP candidate Calum Kerr would only say: ‘The fact that Unionist parties are gathering behind Reform shows just how little vision or ideas they collectively have for Scotland.
‘Only a vote for the SNP can lock out Nigel Farage and deliver the experienced, reliable leadership that John Swinney brings.’
Scottish Tory candidate Stephen Kerr said: ‘The threat of an SNP majority is very real and we know John Swinney will use that to demand another independence referendum.
‘It’s welcome therefore to see so many Scots accessing this key guide which provides them with an easy way to help stop that nightmare scenario from happening.
‘The best way to do that is to vote for your local Scottish Conservative candidate in key constituencies and wherever you are in Scotland, use your peach ballot paper to vote for the Scottish Conservatives on May 7th.’
Visit www.tacticalvotescotland.uk to learn more
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