Mrs Badenoch says she’s winning back Tory voters from Reform in Aberdeen South with oil and gas stance
The Conservative UK leader met party supporters at Cove Rangers FC stadium ahead of the Thursday’s by-election, as rival leaders flood the city.
Conservative UK leader Kemi Badenoch claims their pledge to “truly champion oil and gas” has helped them win back disenchanted Aberdeen voters.
The Tory politician met party supporters at the city’s Balmoral Stadium in the last leg of their campaign trail for the upcoming Aberdeen South by-election.
Conservative candidate Douglas Lumsden will go head to head with Reform’s Jo Hart, SNP’s Richard Thomson and Lib Dem’s Mel Sullivan in a bid for the Westminster seat.
Jorg Shelton-Eckstein of the Scottish Greens, Labour’s Nurul Hoque Ali and David Ballantine for Alliance for Democracy and Freedom are also contending.
Ms Badenoch visited Aberdeen less than 48 hours before polling day to once again stress the Tories’ stance on oil and gas, saying they will give a “kiss of life” to the sector.
Similarly to the Holyrood elections in May, the future of the energy sector has dominated much of the debate during the Aberdeen South by-election.
Ms Badenoch previously said the Thursday vote will be a “referendum on oil and gas”.
‘A lot of people are having buyer’s remorse voting for Reform’
During her latest Aberdeen visit, the Tory leader said their pledge to boost domestic oil and gas production and scrap the windfall tax has helped them reclaim voters’ support.
The Conservative party suffered a harsh blow during the Scottish Parliament elections last month.
They say their losses are due to a split vote between them and Reform pushing the SNP ahead.
Ms Badenoch told The P&J on Tuesday: “We’re hearing people saying that they’re not normally Conservative voters but they care so much about this issue that they will vote Conservative now.
“A lot of people are having buyer’s remorse voting for Reform. They saw that a vote for Reform simply let the SNP in, that was not the message that they wanted to send.
“Now, they know that to send a message about supporting oil and gas and ending the war on the North Sea, they need to vote Conservative.”
She continued: “The decision is always up to the people of Aberdeen.
“What I’m doing is letting them know that we can win if they give us their support, and we’re working as hard as we can, knocking on every single door.”
[Source: Press and Journal]
