Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Rishi Sunak expected in Highlands today as election campaign begins

The prime minister's trip north of the border comes as he prepares to woo voters ahead of the July 4 election.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during his visit to RAF Lossiemouth base in Moray. Image: PA.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to visit the Highlands later today after pulling the trigger on the general election campaign.

His visit north of the border comes just a day after he announced voters will go to the polls on July 4 – earlier than many expected.

The Conservative Party leader is hoping to hold onto votes in seats where its a straight race between the party and the SNP, including in the north-east and Moray.

But he was criticised for disrupting family holiday plans in Scotland and turning the summer election into a rush for postal votes. 

He began his day in with a visit to a distribution centre in Derbyshire to answer questions from staff. He then went to Wales where he visited a brewery.

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said: “The Scottish Conservatives are ready to take the fight to the SNP and beat the nationalists in crucial seats up and down Scotland.

“This election in Scotland is a huge opportunity to defeat the SNP and put an end to their obsession with independence for good.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is riding high in the polls. Image: PA.

“If voters unite in the many seats where it’s a straight fight between the Scottish Conservatives and the SNP, we can get rid of nationalist MPs who have never focused on the things that really matter.

“In key seats up and down Scotland, only the Scottish Conservatives can beat the SNP and get all of the attention on to voters’ top priorities, such as creating good jobs, reducing NHS waiting lists and investing in schools.”

Speaking outside Number 10 Downing Street on Wednesday, Mr Sunak made the economy and combating the global security threats facing the UK the key elements of his pitch to the nation.

In response, Sir Keir Starmer told voters: “Together we can stop the chaos, we can turn the page, we can start to rebuild Britain.”

First Minister John Swinney. Image: PA.

First Minister John Swinney said he is looking forward to leading the SNP in this general election campaign.

He added: “This is the moment to remove the Tory government and put Scotland first by voting SNP. We will work night and day to protect them from the damage done by Westminster.

“The SNP offers a better future to the broken Westminster consensus.

“In this election we’ll be making the case why decisions about Scotland should be made here – and I’ll take that message to every part of Scotland.”

Conversation