Conservatives pledge town-centre regeneration at Cowdenbeath by-election campaign launch

Conservatives are pledging to push for town-centre regeneration as they launch their campaign in the Cowdenbeath by-election.

Leader Ruth Davidson hopes success will help repeat the pressure on the SNP Government which led to a fund aimed at breathing new life into small towns across Scotland.

“Look at what we achieved when the SNP were in minority at Holyrood,” she said while campaigning in Cowdenbeath, a traditional Labour seat.

“We got a fund but it helped Kirkcaldy and we were angry it never made it here.”

Candidate Dave Dempsey, councillor for Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay, said he hopes to protect green spaces from developers and rejuvenate high streets.

“All high streets are getting tired but we need a 21st Century way of bringing them back. The way people shop is changing but we can work out ways to improve the situation,” he said.

The town’s main street is full of shops but many of the buildings are vacant.

Success will be measured in improving on the 2011 vote, where the Tories finished third, far behind the SNP and Labour.

Jim Paterson, a business owner, said Labour will “walk it” but worried it would make no difference to local fortunes.