Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has made a pitch to young voters, who she thinks are key to rejecting independence in the referendum.
Ms Davidson, who opposed the Scottish Parliament’s one-off decision to lower the voting age limit to 16, said it is now her job to speak to the teenagers who will have a say in September next year.
The referendum offers a choice to “renew a union” which will benefit the next generation, she said in an address to Conservative Friends of the Union.
“The next generation today’s young Scots I believe they understand that very well,” she told the small gathering in Edinburgh.
“A clear majority of Scots under the age of 35 and more than half of Scots under the age of 24 reject independence.
“A recent study for the Economic and Social Research Council shows 60% of 14 to 17-year-olds plan to vote to stay in the UK.
“Is this because the young people of Scotland lack ambition for themselves and their country? Is it because they don’t have the self-confidence to strike out for themselves and make their mark on the world? Quite the opposite.”
In a question-and-answer session later, she stood by her decision to oppose the voting age reduction but pledged to campaign for the support of younger people.
“It is absolutely my job to speak to people in that age group,” she said.
Ms Davidson’s speech was billed as an attempt to steer the pro-UK argument in a positive direction after the Better Together parties were accused by independence campaigners of scaremongering.
The Tory leader said: “Endless claims of scaremongering and negativity do nothing to illuminate the debate.
“Equally, we would ill-serve the people of Scotland by failing to ask hard-headed questions about what is being proposed.”