A former Tory MSP has called for the pro-UK parties to unite at Holyrood elections to defeat the SNP.
Professor Adam Tomkins said Scottish Labour, the LibDems and his own party should field one candidate in first-past-the-post races.
An SNP spokesperson rubbished the plan: “This is a desperate and ludicrous suggestion from Adam Tomkins. Perhaps he has uncorked the Christmas sherry a little too early.”
Nicola Sturgeon’ s SNP romped to another election win in May after outpolling their rivals.
The SNP enjoyed huge success in FPTP seats, where in many cases they were the only pro-independence party up against three mainstream Unionist challengers.
Tomkins, who stood down as a Glasgow MSP in May, said the three-versus-one contests had to change.
He told the Record: “There needs to be a restructuring in Scottish politics that recognises the fact that the fundamental division is no longer Left-Right, it is Yes-No.”
He added: “The Yes side are united and the No side are divided, which is the only reason the SNP are still in power.”
His solution is for Labour, the Lib Dems and the Tories to come together:
“I am interested in a much more ambitious configuration of Scottish politics, and which I think is necessary to meet and eventually defeat the challenge of the SNP.
“You’ve got to have a single, unified, anti-SNP or pro-Union candidate standing.
“I would lock Anas Sarwar, Douglas Ross and Alex Cole-Hamilton in a room together and not let them out until they reach an agreement. I just think it needs to happen.”
He claimed: “Eventually it would lead to their defeat.”
Tomkins said the failure of his party to consider this option was a reason for quitting Holyrood:
“I couldn’t stand another five years of watching this from a position of being in a tribe or a party that is institutionally unwilling to do anything about it.”
Labour, the Lib Dems and the Tories came together in the Better Together campaign in 2014 to fight for the Union in the independence referendum.
He sounded downbeat about the chances of his alliance idea happening: “Tribalism is a huge problem. And nostalgia is a huge problem.”
An SNP spokesperson added: “Bitter Together was hardly a rip-roaring success for Scottish Labour in 2014. If they choose to share a ticket with the corrupt and immoral Tories and betray their dwindling number of voters, who absolutely detest what consecutive Tory governments have done to Scotland, the last person at Scottish Labour HQ should just lock the door and throw away the key.”
A Scottish Tories spokesman said: “We offered to work with pro-UK parties against the SNP during this year’s election. Labour rejected that offer inside an hour.”
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