‘I’ll skinny dip in Loch Ness if SNP wins 50 seats’, says ex-Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson

The former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has pledged to go skinny dipping in Loch Ness if the SNP win 50 seats at the General Election. Photo: Jane Barlow/PA Wire - Credit: PA

The former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has pledged to go skinny dipping in Loch Ness if the SNP win 50 seats at the General Election.

In words she may later come to eat, Davidson said conditions are “markedly different” from 2015 when the SNP took 56 seats.

Davidson claimed she is making the pledge safe in the knowledge “that my modesty (and others’ eyeballs) will remain unmolested” as she does not think that will happen.

Writing in The Telegraph, she said: “I will happily wager to strip naked on the banks of Loch Ness and subject myself to a Hogmanay wild swimming session should such a result occur.”

With 59 parliamentary seats available in Scotland she said she does not think the SNP, who have 35 seats at the moment, will secure 50 on Thursday, the PA reports.

According to YouGov’s MRP, the SNP will gain 6 seats, but the number could be higher.

However, Davidson said: “The party currently holds 35 seats, while the Scottish Conservatives control 13, Labour has seven and the Lib Dems four.

“To hit the magic 50, the SNP has to pinch 15 seats from three parties with wildly different offerings on Brexit, the permissibility of another independence referendum, the nuclear deterrent, the economy in general and nationalisation in particular.

“In addition to this, the SNP isn’t just targeting gains. It’s also trying to close the door on further losses. In 2017, largely thanks to pro-union voters adopting tactical voting strategies, Ms Sturgeon lost 21 seats and half a million votes in a single night. A fair share of what’s left are ultra-marginals.”

READ MORE: Could Boris Johnson lose his seat? If Lib Dems and Greens pull together, definitely READ MORE: Dominic Raab and Iain Duncan Smith both within two points of losing their seatsShe concluded: “Let’s just say I’m confident I won’t be wild swimming any time soon.”

Responding to the comments, an SNP spokesman said: “This election really matters and with the SNP the main challenger in every Tory-held seat in Scotland, on Thursday only by voting SNP can we escape Brexit, escape Tory austerity, and deprive Johnson of the majority he desperately craves.

“Unlike the Tories, the SNP has never taken any vote for granted and we will continue to campaign tirelessly for the remainder of this election setting out a positive vision for Scotland and making clear that Scotland’s future must be in Scotland’s hands.

“Ruth Davidson’s hypocrisy knows no bounds. She quit politics to get away from Boris Johnson, yet expects the rest of the country to put up with him. No-one should listen to a word she says.”