SNP’s Stephen Flynn campaigning with party leader John Swinney in Aberdeen South. i spoke to voters about the election
The Conservatives finished second in Aberdeen South in 2019. Despite the party’s woes south of the border, the Scottish Tories believe their strong support of fresh drilling gives them a decent chance of nicking the seat. Tommy, a retired taxi driver, is a pro-Scottish independence voter who has been swaying between the SNP and Labour.
Gary Strachan, who is working in the fishing industry, says he will probably switch from the SNP to Labour on Thursday.“I used to vote SNP, but they’ve not done enough for the north east,” he said. “Independence is not happening anytime soon. I think I’ll go Labour, just to get a change in Government.”
“I usually am a Conservative voter, but this time it’s hard to be enthusiastic,” she says. “I feel a bit sorry for Rishi Sunak – he gets blamed for everything, like the gambling thing. I don’t know whether I’ll stick with them. With Labour, with Keir Starmer – I just don’t trust him.”the energy sector “is certainly dominating much of the conversation” with voters. “Everyone knows someone employed in the industry.
Mr Flynn seemed more concerned about the threat from his Tory rival John Wheeler than Labour hopeful Mohammad Tauqeer Malik. “I very much see my challenge as emanating from the Conservatives.”that Mr Flynn’s high profile makes him “the underdog”. He said he believes he can pull off an upset on Thursday, predicting that it will be an “extremely close” result.“We’ve been insulted from some of the issues because people understand the importance of the oil and gas industry.
Mr Malik said the oil and gas issue is “not really” a problem for his party. He pointed to Labour’s promise to set up a renewable investment vehicle, GB Energy, that would create 69,000 jobs in Scotland., showed Mr Malik asking a Tory backer to consider voting tactically to defeat the SNP.