SCOTLAND'S parties have been pushing home their key election messages as they head into polling day.
At Holyrood, party leaders made a last-ditch attempt to secure votes by attacking the records of their opponents at First Minister’s Questions.
Nicola Sturgeon ridiculed Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross over his U-turn on calling for the Prime Minister’s resignation following the partygate scandal, describing him as the “cheerleader-in-chief for Boris Johnson”.
A big focus for the SNP has also been urging voters to show their anger the spiralling cost of living crisis, and the party’s campaign bus took its message on "Sending Boris a message" and "Ease the Squeeze" on a final stop outside Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh.
With Labour bidding to win back Glasgow City Council, the SNP also launched an attack on the record of Anas Sarwar’s party while it had control of the local authority – including a “disgraceful failure over many years to ensure equal pay for women”.
The cost of living crisis was also highlighted by the Scottish Greens as a priority which affects everyone, along with the climate emergency. Their slogan of "Think global, act local" has been out in force.
Alex Salmond took to the campaign trail in Falkirk, with a message of “Alba stands for independence”.
The Tories across the UK battling are against the fallout from scandals fresh in voters’ minds – such as the Downing Street parties during lockdown and the resignation of MP Neil Parish after accusations he watched pornography in the House of Commons.
Recent polls have suggested that the Tories could drop to third place behind Scottish Labour.
So it’s of little surprise that Douglas Ross appeared to be invoking the spirit of Project Fear again, trying to rally pro-UK supporters to back his party and to “lock the SNP out of power”.
Scottish Labour leader Sarwar also chose to focus on the cost of living crisis, claiming Scots were being “failed” by two “out-of-touch governments” at Holyrood and Westminster.
But he also hammered home a more local message, saying the elections are a chance to vote for “local champions".
That was a phrase also used by Scottish LibDem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton, who declared optimistically his party is seeing “new shoots of growth and renewal”.
The final verdict? That will, of course, be in the hands of Scotland’s voters.
