Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are set to come to Perth in a bid to win over Conservative voters next month.
The final two candidates in the race to be prime minister are expected to take part in a hustings event in the city on Tuesday 16 August.
Last week Conservative MPs voted for the former chancellor and the foreign secretary to be the final two in the party leadership election.
Despite Mr Sunak winning more votes from his fellow MPs in this vote, Ms Truss is now the bookies’ favourite to become the next prime minister.
As Westminster signs off for the summer recess the pair will now spend the next few weeks campaigning to gain support from within their own party and taking part in a number of hustings across the UK.
‘Whoever wins, we lose’
However when Mr Sunak and Ms Truss come to Perth they will be faced with a protest “against the cost of the union”.
Pro-independence campaign group All Under One Banner say they are planning to hold a demonstration outside the event in August.
A similar protest was held outside Perth Concert Hall when Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt took part in a leadership hustings in 2019.
In a post on social media, All Under One Banner called for “maximum attendance” at the event.
They said: “Whoever wins, we lose.
“Independence is our right to decide.
We hereby call a protest at the Perth Tory leadership hustings which take place Tues 16 August. We call for maximum attendance from independence supporters at this protest. The Tories have no mandate to rule in Scotland! Independence is our right to decide. Further info to come. pic.twitter.com/7qxHVS9vfI
— All Under One Banner (@AUOBNOW) July 22, 2022
“Now is the time to exercise self-determination.
“The Tories have no mandate to rule in Scotland.”
‘Worst kind of blinkered nationalist hatred’
The call to gather outside the Perth hustings has been criticised by the Scottish Conservatives who have branded the group “clowns” filled with “nationalist hatred”.
Craig Hoy, the party’s chairman, said: “No one objects to legitimate protest, but such indiscriminate pile-ons are typical of the worst kind of blinkered nationalist hatred.
“A large proportion of Scottish voters back the Conservatives as the only effective opposition to this kind of bigoted refusal to debate.
“And sensible people of all political views think stunts like these actually undermine the divisive cause these clowns claim to be advancing.”
This comes as SNP MP Pete Wishart calls for pro-independence supporters to show “respect” to unionists while out campaigning ahead of the proposed 2023 referendum.
The Perth and North Perthshire MP last week also offered up his services as a peacemaker between Mr Sunak and Ms Truss when they come to Scotland.
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