Richard Lochhead hails "sensational" SNP result in Moray
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SNP MSP Richard Lochhead has described his party's victory in Moray at the European Elections as "sensational".
The SNP topped the poll in Moray with 34.1%, an increase of 0.2% from 2014, while the Conservative vote dropped by just under 7%. The Brexit Party came in second.
Speaking after the result was declared, Lochhead said: “This is a sensational result for the SNP in Moray and I’m delighted that locally the parties backing remaining in the EU outpolled those supporting Brexit.
“The people of Moray have rejected the chaos and damage of the Conservative Party, with the SNP achieving nearly double the vote of the Tories.
"The Conservative Party’s vote in Moray is in meltdown. It is astonishing that in the last elections, in 2017, they polled 47.5% of the vote but achieved only 17.5% in this latest test of public opinion.
The SNP's vote share in Moray was lower than that of the Scottish average, as is usual, but the result is an impressive one for Nicola Sturgeon's party.
Lochhead gave his thoughts on why the SNP had done well in the area.
“Many people in Forres and Moray are very concerned by the potential impact of Brexit on the local economy and living standards and want their voices heard and Brexit stopped," he said. "They are also angry at the impact the UK Government’s policies on welfare reform and many other issues are having on the town and wider region.
“At a time when the rest of the UK voted for the Brexit Party led by right wing extremists, the people of Scotland instead got behind the outward looking and pro-European SNP because they are fed up with being ignored by a chaotic Westminster and a UK Government that has plunged into civil war.
“The Tory Party in Scotland made this election all about opposing a second independence referendum and right across the country that message was overwhelmingly rejected.
“I thank the people of Moray for delivering such an emphatic result for the SNP. We now need a General Election or People’s Vote to allow the country to put the Brexit mess behind us.”
