THE Scottish Conservatives could push Labour into third place at the Holyrood parliamentary elections in May, David Mundell, the Scottish Secretary, has suggested, claiming that Ruth Davidson is already the “de facto leader of the opposition” in Edinburgh.

A Comres poll this weekend, albeit on a small Scotland sample of just 160 people, has placed the Scottish Tories on 18 per cent, Labour on 13, the Liberal Democrats on nine, Ukip six, the Greens on two and the SNP well ahead on 46 points.

Mr Mundell, stressing how one in six or seven Scots had voted Conservative, claimed there were “strong signs now of a resurgence under Ruth Davidson’s leadership”.

The sole Scottish Tory MP went on: “She’s a dynamic young woman, who has brought a real buzz to Scottish politics, and is clearly the only person in the Scottish Parliament, who is able to go toe-to-toe with Nicola Sturgeon and hold her to account.”

Asked whether the Scottish Conservatives could finish in second place behind the SNP in May, Mr Mundell replied: “It’s perfectly possible. It’s not inevitable; we’ve got to work very hard.

“At the moment, Ruth Davidson is the de facto leader of the opposition in Scotland and we want to make her the official leader of the opposition by having more MSPs by the Labour party. That’s perfectly possible.”

The Secretary of State said he was not going to get hung up on one poll, although, he pointed out, that it was consistent with others.

A snapshot last month showed the number of people planning to vote Tory in May had jumped six points to 18 per cent, gaining ground on Labour, whose support remained unchanged at 20 points.

“Today’s sample is small,” Mr Mundell told the BBC. “There is a number of other polls, though, that have shown Labour and the Conservatives very close together in Scotland; there’s been a number of council by-elections right across Scotland, which have shown the Conservatives outperforming Labour.

“So Ruth’s very clear pitch in the election next year is to the two million people who voted to remain in the United Kingdom; if you want someone to stand up to the SNP, somebody to speak out for the United Kingdom, then the Scottish Conservatives are your vote.”

It is 60 years since the Conservatives outperformed Labour electorally in Scotland; in the 1955 General Election the Tories returned 36 MPs compared to Labour’s 34.

As Jeremy Corbyn seeks to take Labour to the left and help reinforce Scottish Labour as a firmly left-wing organisation, the Tories north of the border see a golden opportunity to make gains, promoting Ms Davidson as the only clear champion of maintaining the Union in Scotland.

Labour sources have suggested the party has all but given up on retaining any constituency seats at Holyrood with key figures focusing on places on the PR list; meaning there is a clear recognition that another SNP landslide majority is on the cards.

Mr Mundell acknowledged for both Labour and the Conservatives winning list seats was key, stressing that he was “very confident” his party would do well.

He added: “We have set out a clear message. Ruth Davidson came out of the referendum in a very strong position as someone who people saw across party as being someone who would stand up for the United Kingdom.”