THE chairman of the Conservatives has predicted that his party will gain three or four seats in Scotland at the next General Election.
Grant Shapps also accepted a £50 bet on the Tories to have more than two MPs next time around.
With just one, the party famously has fewer MPs in Scotland than there are pandas in Edinburgh Zoo.
The Herald revealed earlier this year that Tory strategists plan to gain more seats in 2015 by keeping "under the radar".
Conservative strategists found the more they told the electorate the party had a chance to win in a seat the more people were motivated to back their opponents.
The party faces an uphill battle in Scotland where to many voters it is still seen as toxic.
Earlier this week Tory planning minister Nick Boles admitted the party still had an image problem in some parts of the country where they were seen as "aliens from another planet".
Mr Shapps made his comments as he appeared on the BBC's Daily Politics, where he made the bet with presenter Andrew Neil.
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