Nicola Sturgeon will call on Scots voters to back the SNP in what she has described as a “two-horse race” with the Tories.
The SNP leader will frame June’s General Election as a contest between the two parties in Scotland when she meets with the Scottish Tradses Union Congress in Aviemore later today.
Ms Sturgeon will tell trade union members: “The election in Scotland is a two-horse race between the SNP and hard-line Tories.
“The Tories have taken an extreme position, demanding an end to any opposition at Westminster if they win the election.”
She will tell the STUC that a strengthened Tory government will impose more austerity measures, including welfare cuts, and lead the UK to a so-called hard Brexit, without European single market membership.
“The more Tory MPs there are, the heavier the price Scotland will pay,” Ms Sturgeon will say.
“They’re already cutting nearly £3 billion from the Scottish budget. They’re hitting family incomes hard by cutting and removing child tax credits.
“They want to remove Scotland from the European single market which will cost thousands of jobs.
“They’ve done all this with a small majority.
“Now they want to crush any opposition. The bigger the Tory majority the more they will think they can do anything to Scotland and get away with it.”
Meanwhile the Scottish Conservatives are focusing their campaign on opposing another independence vote.
Murdo Fraser, Tory finance spokesman, said: “This biggest threat to prosperity in Scotland is not from a Conservative government, but from Nicola Sturgeon’s obsession with cutting us off from our biggest market, the rest of the UK.
“The choice at this election is very clear, and it is only the Scottish Conservatives that can be trusted to preserve the Union.”
Scottish Labour’s James Kelly said: “Nicola Sturgeon is attempting to pull the wool over voters’ eyes.
“Her only priority on June 8 is finding an excuse for another divisive referendum, not kicking the Tories out of office.”