There is a distinct air of unreality about the position of the Scottish Labour party as it enters this election campaign. Frankly, many in the party don’t believe opinion polls suggesting, as YouGov did last week, that they are 10 per cent ahead of the SNP and could return up to 35 MPs on 4 July. ‘In yer dreams, pal’ say canvassers tramping the rainy pavements of urban Scotland. The collapse in the fortunes of the Scottish National party, and their own corresponding rise, has just been too sudden.
Perhaps Anas Sarwar’s biggest task is to get his battered troops to believe
After all, the Scottish Labour party currently has only two MPs in Scotland out of 57 – that’s the same as Alex Salmond’s tiny Alba party. Even the Scottish Liberal Democrats currently have four. Only a couple of years ago, the SNP was registering over 50 per cent in some opinion polls and Labour was 20 points behind – rather as the Tories are today in the UK.
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