Fife Conservatives are struggling to find any general election candidates willing to campaign for Rishi Sunak, The Courier can reveal.
Sources in the party say members have been unwilling to put their name forward in three constituencies – Glenrothes, Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, and Dunfermline and Dollar.
All three seats look set to become a two-horse race between the SNP and Labour, but the Conservatives have historically fielded candidates.
‘No integrity’
In a scathing assessment of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, one long-time Scottish Tory activist said: “We know he’s not going to do anything, he’s going to lose.
“I couldn’t talk about supporting him as prime minister when I don’t. There’s no integrity in that.”
The source said Mr Sunak was “detached from reality”, pointing out that despite his well-off background, Boris Johnson was still able to connect with the average voter.
A second party insider said Conservative MPs had “ousted” their “biggest electoral asset” in Mr Johnson and replaced him with someone “completely lacking in charisma”.
He highlighted several embarrassing exchanges Mr Sunak had with voters, where he has appeared to laugh as they shared problems with him.
He added: “I think you’d find most of us agree the party is going in the wrong direction under Rishi and so is the country.
“In seats like the three in Fife mentioned where we want to stop the SNP, most of us will just hold our noses. At best we’ll field a paper candidate.”
The only seat in the Kingdom with a Conservative candidate identified is North East Fife, where retired MSP Bill Bowman will seek support.
Despite traditionally polling in third place in the remaining three Fife constituencies, a Conservative candidate has appeared on the ballot at every election since the 1970s.
Graeme Downie, Scottish Labour candidate for Dunfermline and Dollar, said it was no surprise the party couldn’t find anyone willing to face the electorate.
He said Tories and the SNP had “run out steam”, adding: “Our campaign has spoken to thousands of people over the past 12 months, people being failed by both the Tories at Westminster and the SNP at Holyrood.”
All Tory candidates to be revealed within weeks
The SNP’s Lesley Backhouse, who will contest Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, said: “After 14 years of causing unforgivable damage to people and businesses across Scotland, voters can’t wait to get rid of Rishi Sunak and the cruel Westminster government so it’s not surprising that the Tories are struggling to find anyone willing to publicly support them.”
Asked about the lack of enthusiasm among members after a visit in Fife, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said he could guarantee there would be a candidate in every seat.
He told The Courier: “We will have candidates in every constituency across Scotland.
“We have got outstanding candidates up and down the country and will be fighting a very strong campaign across the whole of Scotland, reminding people that Humza Yousaf is obsessed with another independence referendum and distracted in government.
“The Scottish Conservatives have a positive policy platform to take to people right across the country, unlike the SNP.
The Conservatives are not the only party with candidate issues in the Kingdom.
In Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, one of Labour’s top target seats in Scotland, the party’s candidate was suspended after a series of “racist” tweets she had liked on social media were unearthed.
Alba’s Neale Hanvey was confirmed by activists for the seat on Sunday, potentially splitting the pro-independence vote with the SNP.
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