The SNP have left behind rural communities across Scotland during their 15 years in power, the Scottish Conservatives have said.
Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross made the statement while on the local government election trail on a farm visit in Perthshire.
He pointed to a series of SNP policy failures which have had a detrimental impact on rural and remote areas and also accused SNP Ministers of being obsessively focused on the Central Belt.
Scottish Conservative councillors elected next month are committed to introducing a Countryside Education Day in their local authority area to ensure school pupils are better informed about rural life and local farming and food production.
Douglas, who is also a Highlands and Islands MSP, says the SNP have typically over-promised and under-delivered for rural areas.
Many rural areas will have to wait until 2027 to receive superfast broadband, despite the SNP promising their flagship R100 programme to all by 2021.
Island communities are still waiting on two new ferries being delivered years after they were scheduled, with costs for taxpayers also now spiralling to over £250 million.
Douglas also hit out at the SNP’s failure to back Scottish Conservative calls to double the Rural Housing Fund, despite the scheme falling woefully short of delivering the 500 homes ministers promised.
Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross said: “Our rural and remote communities are all too often a complete afterthought for the SNP Government. They have been completely left behind by Ministers who shape policies with only the Central Belt of Scotland in mind.
“That is why our councillors will introduce a Countryside Education Day to ensure our school pupils gain an insight into a rural way of life and see first-hand the challenges of farming and food production.
“When it comes to day-to-day services, it is our rural residents and businesses who can feel most detached from decision-making.
“That’s exacerbated even further by the SNP’s savage cuts to council budgets year after year. There is an almost endless list of policy areas where the SNP have over-promised and under-delivered for rural Scotland.
“From not delivering on their flagship broadband programme, to their scandalous failure to deliver new ferries for our island communities and even now rowing back on previous commitments to upgrade vital rural trunk roads, the SNP are simply not on your side if you live in a rural area.
“This trend has been going on for years. Farmers won’t have forgotten their astonishing botched IT system failure in 2016, which resulted in many of them being left without a source of income, and people wishing to live in our rural communities have seen total inaction when it comes to their housing needs.
“Only by voting Scottish Conservative on May 5th will our rural communities be guaranteed strong councillors who’ll stand up for their interests and put local priorities first, not the SNP’s priorities.”