THERESA May will arrive in Scotland today, claiming that a Conservative General Election victory will “strengthen the Union” and see the Scottish economy flourish.

The Prime Minister, making her first campaign visit north of the border, is expected to travel to an SNP-held seat in a former Conservative heartland, which the Tories hope to win back from the Nationalists. In the last few days, she has held rallies in traditional Labour seats in England and Wales.

Mrs May will visit a local business to discuss her Government’s industrial strategy and will then attend a rally, where she will be introduced by Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader.

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The PM is expected to say: “My message to the people of Scotland today is clear: if you vote for me it will strengthen my hand in the Brexit negotiations; it will strengthen the Union, strengthen the economy and together the UK and Scotland will flourish.

“Because when Scotland is flourishing, the rest of the United Kingdom is flourishing too.”

Her visit comes just hours after a YouGov poll placed support for the Tories on 28 per cent, behind the SNP on 41 but ahead of Labour on 18 and the Liberal Democrats on seven.

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The projections from the numbers suggested the Scottish Conservatives would increase their Westminster tally to eight seats, up seven, and include that of Moray, held since 2001 by Angus Robertson, the SNP’s deputy leader.

The Nationalists were projected to get 47 seats, down nine, the Liberal Democrats three, up two, with Alistair Carmichael, the former Scottish Secretary, holding Orkney and Shetland, and the party taking back East Dunbartonshire and Edinburgh West, while Labour would retain its single seat of Edinburgh South with Ian Murray.

The figures prompted Ms Davidson to claim that Mrs May was now "more in touch" with Scots than Nicola Sturgeon.

But the First Minister, campaigning in East Renfrewshire, insisted it was only the SNP that could "stand up to the Tories" as she warned: "The truth is the more Tory MPs Westminster has, the heavier the price Scotland will pay."

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According to Labour insiders, East Renfrewshire is one of only three seats the party is seriously targeting in Scotland alongside Edinburgh South and East Lothian; an assertion Kezia Dugdale dismissed as “absolute nonsense”.

Campaigning in Glasgow’s Easterhouse, the Scottish Labour leader said: "We're selecting candidates in all seats across the country. I'm immensely proud of the candidates we've selected, they represent a new generation of Labour candidates; many of them are standing for the first time."

Her colleague, Jeremy Corbyn, will on Saturday appeal to young voters to “step up for Britain” and register to vote in order to avoid apathy and resignation putting Mrs May back in Downing Street.

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Speaking at a campaign rally in London, the UK Labour leader is expected to warn that “a Brexit for the few is now brewing; one where any money saved is handed out as tax cuts to the super-rich and their corporations; where new trade deals with the US and elsewhere are used to drive down our working conditions and environmental and food standards”.

Mr Corbyn will claim that Conservative backers “always have a get out of jail free card while this government is at the controls” and are able to opt out when things go wrong.

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Noting how more than 2.4 million young people are not on the UK’s electoral register and that barely 40 per cent of 18 to 24-year olds turn out to vote, he will say: “It is time to step up…I mean register to vote and claim your future; do so by May 22.”

He will urge young people not to allow the Tories to get back into power because of “apathy and resignation” and will add: “Don’t let the Conservatives hold Britain back. Quite simply, only the Labour Party can deliver a Britain for the many, not the few.”

On Friday, the Labour leader accused the PM of “showing contempt for the public” by “going into hiding” and refusing to face ordinary voters or take part in televised debates during the election campaign. “Refusing to debate Labour in this election isn't a sign of strength, it's a sign of weakness,” he declared.

Elsewhere, it emerged that Katy Clark, the former Ayrshire MP and Mr Corbyn’s political secretary, failed in her bid to become Labour’s candidate in Leigh, the seat held by former Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham, who is seeking to become Manchester’s first elected mayor.

Lord Smith, the leader of Wigan Council, threatened to resign as chairman of the local constituency Labour party if Ms Clark was “parachuted in”. It was suggested the Scot withdrew from the contest, which was won by Jo Platt, a local councillor.

Meantime, Tim Farron, looking towards the 20th anniversary of the Blair landslide on Monday, said: “1997 shows what can happen when a party is prepared to make a broad appeal to change Britain’s future for the better.

“My message on the eve of that anniversary is this: 'Things Can Only Get Better' but this time with the Liberal Democrats. Back us and change Britain’s future.”