BARONESS Ruth Davidson and Arlene Foster are reportedly planning a "whistle-stop tour" of the UK to drum up flagging support for the Union in a move branded "desperate".
Former Scottish Conservative leader Davidson and the former-DUP leader are set to go on a tour of the UK in an attempt to highlight the benefits of staying within the Union, The Sun reports.
This comes as a new poll revealed a major boost for Scottish independence.
SNP MP Stewart Hosie said: “It’ll take more than a whistle-stop tour from an unelected baroness and a far-right DUP politician to convince Scots of the supposed benefits of the Union.”
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A source close to the tour told the paper that the pair were hoping to try and move the limelight away from Scottish independence.
They said: “Arlene will hit the road with the likes of Ruth and show people what the Union means.”
The SNP are still involved in a legal battle with the Westminster Government in an attempt to secure the right to hold a second independence referendum.
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Hosie continued: “Under Westminster rule people in Scotland are seeing the bills rise by more than they can afford, record levels of inflation, and stagnating wages, all while the Tories sit on their hands and avoid responsibility for a cost-of-living crisis of their own making.”
Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman said she didn't see the pair "packing out the town halls and theatres of Scotland".
She added: "It's a sign that things are getting desperate when Ruth Davidson and Arlene Foster are being touted as saviours of the Union.
“One of them left Holyrood for an unelected role in the House of Lords while the other led a bigoted, reactionary and anti-choice party that propped up a failed Tory government and doesn’t even stand candidates here.
“The Scotland I want to see is a socially just and progressive one without the cruel policies of Tory governments in Westminster or the bile and prejudice of the DUP.”
Hosie added: “To add insult to injury we have the prospect of a new Tory prime minister in two weeks time, not only someone who hasn’t been elected by the people of Scotland but who has explicitly said will ignore Scotland’s democratically elected First Minister."
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Liz Truss recently labelled Nicola Sturgeon an "attention seeker" and argued it was best to "ignore her".
The final ballots in the Tory leadership race are set to be cast on Friday September 2 with the winner then being announced on Monday September 5.
Hosie added: “Scotland faces a massive democratic deficit, one that’ll be widened further when whoever takes the reins at Number 10 tries their hardest to stop the referendum Scots have consistently voted for.
“With each passing day the promises made to Scotland in 2014 evaporate under the reality of life under Westminster control – making it all the more crucial that Scots have the opportunity to free themselves of Tory rule forever in an independence referendum in 2023.”
The news comes as Arlene Foster launched the Together UK Foundation, which aims to bring together “mainstream pro-Union voices” to “make the positive rational case” for maintaining the Union.
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Foster said: “Together, we are better able to weather the economic storm that is battering the UK and other leading economies; together, we benefited from the freedoms from the delivery of early UK Covid vaccinations; together, we share the benefits of a truly national health service, free at the point of use – something that countries on our very doorstep do not enjoy.”
Commenting on the group, Truss said it would “provide a brilliant platform” to highlight the benefits of the United Kingdom.
Foster resigned as leader of the DUP and last month said she would be working to “allow people to know why the union is something that will exist into the future” and that it had a range of economic, political and cultural benefits.
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