Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are making campaigning trips across the north and north-east today as the Tory leadership race enters its critical final stages.
The two prime minister candidates hope to convince the thousands of ordinary people who don’t have a vote in the contest that they are the right successor to Boris Johnson.
Here’s all you need to know as the Conservative rivals tour the region before a set-piece debate this evening in Perth – the only one being staged in Scotland.
Where will they visit on Scottish tour?
Both leadership contenders start in the north on Tuesday afternoon where they will meet party members and activists.
Ms Truss is expected to visit a business earlier in the day, before making her way to an event in Aberdeen.
Former chancellor Mr Sunak is expected to be in west Aberdeenshire as he tries to win over local Conservative supporters.
He is also lined up to speak to fishing industry leaders in the north-east.
The pair will then travel to Perth for the hustings later in the evening.
What reception can they expect?
Undecided Scottish Tory voters will be keen to welcome Mr Sunak and Ms Truss to their home patches as they decide where to lend their support.
But the two Tory MPs should prepare for an angry response from opponents, fed up with a cost-of-living crisis and chaos in Downing Street.
Plenty of anger against the Conservative Party remains following Boris Johnson’s decision to quit.
Pro-independence supporters are expected to gather in Perth outside the concert hall before the leadership debate begins.
Whoever emerges victorious once the campaign has concluded will have a tough job to win back support north of the border.
However, wider popularity among Scottish voters won’t be a point of concern for either candidate right now – since only Tory members actually get to decide who becomes prime minister.
What are the key talking points?
The cost of living crisis has dominated the campaign so far and that’s unlikely to change.
Mr Sunak and Ms Truss have been urged to promise further support for struggling households before energy bills rise again in October.
Before they head to Perth, both candidates can expect to be quizzed over the future of the oil and gas industry in the north-east.
Mr Sunak took the decision to impose a windfall tax on multinational firms in May despite previously opposing the measure.
Business chiefs invited the two leadership hopefuls to Aberdeen for a debate on the UK’s energy strategy.
While the SNP want to phase out oil and gas, senior Tories have been in favour of ramping up production due to the energy crisis.
As always, the future of the union will be a central concern for Tory members nervous about Nicola Sturgeon’s latest independence push.
Both Mr Sunak and Ms Truss vowed to block a second referendum next year and insist the question was answered back in 2014.
Ms Truss sparked anger when she branded Ms Sturgeon an “attention-seeker” who should be ignored.
Independence poll latest
On the day they travel to Perth, a new poll suggests a quarter of Scots would be more likely to support Scottish independence regardless of who becomes the next Prime Minister.
The survey of 1,002 Scots by Survation and Diffley Partnerships for Charlotte Street Partners shows 20% of respondents were “much more likely” to back independence with Ms Truss in charge, while 5% said they would “a little more likely” to back separation.
With Mr Sunak in Downing Street, 19% said they were much more likely, while 7% said they were a little more likely.
Tory leaders’ pledge on Holyrood
On the eve of the Perth debate, Ms Truss’s campaign vowed to give MSPs more power to question the Scottish Government.
Mr Sunak meanwhile promised to make it a requirement for Scotland’s most senior civil servant, the permanent secretary to the Scottish Government, to attend a powerful Westminster committee for questioning.
Even if both candidates stand firm against a referendum, mending relations with Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross and restoring trust among disillusioned Scottish Tory voters will still be important.
On the eve of the Perth debate, Ms Truss’s campaign vowed to give MSPs more power to question the Scottish Government.
Mr Sunak meanwhile promised to make it a requirement for Scotland’s most senior civil servant, the permanent secretary to the Scottish Government, to attend a powerful Westminster committee for questioning.
What time is the event and can I watch it?
The hustings event is to begin at 7pm – but if you’re hoping to watch it then you’re out of luck.
The debate will not be broadcasted live on either the BBC or STV for Scots hoping to tune in, meaning it’s available for Tory members only.
Just 0.2% of the British population have a say in who becomes the next prime minister.
We’ll be covering all the news lines and analysis online and in print.