The National:

IT’S a given that everyone sees the world differently. But we think the Scottish Tories might need to get their eyes tested.

In efforts to downplay growing support for independence and plummeting approval ratings for Boris Johnson, Moray MP and former Scotland Office minister Douglas Ross talked up the Tory leader’s visit to his constituency last night.

Speaking to Channel 4 News, Ross stressed that despite the opinion polls – and Yessers lining the streets – the Prime Minister was greeted by people who “cheered and waved” in his own constituency.

Polls show 54% of people support independence before campaigning has even started. They show a 99% (yes, 99%!) difference between Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon’s approval ratings. There were Saltire-waving protesters everywhere the Tory leader went yesterday.

As a Conservative-voting area, obviously there will be Moray residents who were (somehow) pleased to see Johnson yesterday. But Ross must have got dizzy from all that spin.

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Krishnan Guru-Murthy asked him: “I’m surprised you wanted Boris Johnson in your constituency given how unpopular he is in Scotland. You after all resigned, over the behaviour of Dominic Cummings, from the Government.”

Ross replied that it was “very good” to see Johnson back in Moray for the second time in eight months, and criticised the First Minister for not coming to the area as frequently.

He said the trip showed “how seriously the Prime Minister takes getting out to every part of the United Kingdom” – if you exclude any SNP/Yes supporting areas, that is. Have we been released from the Union already?

The MP went on: “Just two points from the earlier introduction. The Prime Minister wasn’t just at RAF Lossiemouth where he was thanking the troops … he was on a factory visit with me at Baxters where was cheered and waved by employees and spoke to local people and engaged with them.

“And also these visits have been planned for some time but because of Covid they couldn’t happen, so this is not knee-jerk reaction to opinion polls, this is the Prime Minister getting out and about in the United Kingdom and showing people in Scotland we have two governments that work together.”

It had been reported in the Times earlier in the week that Michael Gove was in “panic” mode over the state of the Union, while the Mail said there were “fears” about Sturgeon’s televised briefings among senior Cabinet members.

And Johnson reportedly told ministers just a few days ago that they have to start going to Scotland more.

But no, definitely not knee-jerk. They’re totally confident.