The Scottish Conservatives have accused the SNP of “betraying” the public in delaying the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness, on the back of figures suggesting there are more injuries and deaths on undualled sections of the road than on dualled ones.

The Transport Scotland statistics indicate that from 2020-2023 inclusive, there were 199 injuries and 15 deaths on single-carriage sections of the road, compared to 114 and seven respectively for dualled sections.

The SNP originally pledged to fully dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness by 2025, but last year this was pushed back to 2035, something the Scottish Conservatives said indicated their “contempt” for rural Scotland.

Scottish Conservative candidate for Angus and Perthshire Glens Stephen Kerr said: “These terrifying figures lay bare the human cost of the SNP’s A9 betrayal.

“Lives continue to be needlessly lost on Scotland’s most dangerous road, as a result of the SNP’s appalling broken promises.

“It’s unacceptable that the main trunk road linking Perth and Inverness is still more than a decade from being fully dualled.

“It highlights the SNP Government’s contempt for the rural communities that rely on the A9.

“Only the Scottish Conservatives understand and care about Scotland’s rural, remote and coastal communities, and in key seats across the country – including Angus and Perthshire Glens – it’s a straight fight between us and the independence-obsessed SNP on July 4.”

Seamus Logan, SNP candidate for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, said: “Every single death on our roads is a tragedy and across all political parties there is genuine commitment to make our roads safer to prevent further deaths and injuries.

“The SNP is totally committed to dualling the A9 and have set out in Government a realistic plan for achieving this.

“This clear commitment is in spite of significant fiscal challenges faced by the SNP Scottish Government, in particular the Tory UK Government’s decision to stick with austerity and cut Scotland’s capital budget by 9%.”