Tories 'running scared' of Scottish council elections as candidates swap wards

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The Scottish Tories have been accused of "running scared" by the SNP ahead of council elections in May. It comes as a senior Conservative councillor announced they will contest a different ward when voters go to the polls, while several others won't seek reelection.Iain Whyte, leader of the Tory group on Edinburgh City Council, revealed he will seek re-election in Craigentinny/Duddingston - rather than Inverleith where he has served since the ward was established in 2007.At the last council election in 2017, Whyte received the lowest number of first preference votes out of Inverleith’s four elected members.Another Conservative councillor, Phil Doggart, is also switching wards from Colinton/Fairmilehead to Liberton/Gilmerton.The SNP said at least seven Tories in the capital have so far declared they will not stand for reelection come May.That number includes Sue Webber, who was elected as a Tory MSP at last year's Holyrood poll.One Conservative councillor in Glasgow, Kyle Thornton, has so far declared they will not seek reelection in the city.

He will instead stand in Mid & Upper Nithsdale in Dumfries and Galloway after moving for personal reasons.The party has endured a torrid month in the wake of the partygate scandal that has engulfed Downing Street.Scottish leader Douglas Ross has publicly called on Boris Johnson to resign as Prime Minister - a position backed by the vast majority of his MSPs at Holyrood.And a poll out last week found Johnson's personal net favourability rating has dropped 16 points since October and now sits at minus 62 - making him the least favourable politician in Scotland alongside Alex Salmond.The Conservatives enjoyed their best performance this century when Scots last voted at council