Euro-sceptics have opened a campaign hub in Aberdeen in a bid to turn the north-east into a bastion for Brexit.
Ross Thomson MSP told volunteers the Granite City is “playing a leading role” in ending the “suffocating effects” of the EU as he unveiled the Dee Street premises yesterday.
The north-east member is one of the most senior Scottish Conservatives to back Leave ahead of the June 23 poll.
His comments came after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said EU membership was crucial for delivering first class higher education in Scotland.
With just three weeks to go until the vote, polls suggest a majority of Scots back remaining in the EU, with a much closer contest predicted south of the border.
But Mr Thomson said “the feeling on the ground” is “not reflected in the polls” in Scotland.
He added: “The positive response from Aberdeen and the wider north-east to our message to Vote Leave in the referendum has been overwhelming and the decision by the campaign to open up an official office here in the Granite City is a clear signal of that.
“In Europe’s Energy Capital, the engine room of the UK economy, the positive case to leave the EU is being heard and embraced.
“Local people are looking for change, to take back control over our sovereignty, our law making, our money and our borders.”
The opening of the Vote Leave office in Aberdeen followed a speech by Ms Sturgeon in Glasgow, where she highlighted the benefits of EU membership to Scottish students.
The SNP leader claimed access to EU programmes such as Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020 were instrumental in ensuring that Scottish higher education had a international outlook.
She added: “I’m passionate about ensuring Scotland’s education system is the best it can be – accessible, at the cutting edge of research and teaching, and outward-looking.
“Erasmus holds a special place in the SNP’s heart, as it was former SNP MEP Winnie Ewing who chaired the European Parliament’s Education and Culture Committee as Erasmus was established in the late 1980s.
“From those beginnings, the scheme has grown – and in 2012/13 over 1,400 students from Scottish universities were supported by the Erasmus programme to study abroad.
“Of course, our higher education institutions benefit from EU membership just as much as our students.
“Our participation in the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme provides an invaluable source of research funding and collaboration for our education institutions – helping them to maintain their excellent international reputation.”