Another day, another bad poll for Labour. YouGov research has revealed that a whopping 75 per cent of Scots disapprove of the UK government, with just half of those who backed Labour in 2024 saying they would consider voting for the reds again. But this doesn’t necessarily spell good news for the nationalists: while 37 per cent of Scots would consider backing the SNP in a future election, more than half of the country is fed up with John Swinney’s government. Oh dear…
Polling carried out between 31 October and 5 November shows that, with just six months to go until the 2026 Holyrood election, the SNP is in the lead – with just over a third of Scots admitting they would consider voting for the party next May. Thanks in part to the unpopularity of Sir Keir Starmer, Anas Sarwar’s Labour party is struggling to win the hearts – and support – of Scottish voters, with just 23 per cent of people saying they would back the reds next year. The Tories, currently the biggest opposition party in Holyrood, is looking to fare even worse with a mere 15 per cent of Scots considering voting for Russell Findlay’s group.
Instead the Greens and Liberal Democrats are picking up support across the country, with support at 27 and 26 per cent respectively. Reform UK is backed by a fifth of Scots, while 15 per cent say they would consider getting behind a new left-wing group led by Jeremy Corbyn. Meanwhile Alex Salmond’s Alba party – which recently lost its only MSP and has suffered from a recent bout of infighting – has polled lowest, with just 8 per cent of voters considering supporting the pro-indy party. Not that independence support has taken much of a hit, with 49 per cent in favour of secession while 51 per cent remain opposed.
The favourability ratings for Scotland’s politicians don’t make pleasant reading, either. First Minister John Swinney has a popularity score of -19, while Sarwar is almost double that at -34. Despite Reform’s relative success in the Scottish polls, Nigel Farage is relatively unpopular – with a score of -47 – though not quite as disliked as the Prime Minister, who is on -53. The co-leaders of the Scottish Greens fare slightly better, with Ross Greer on -16 and Gillian Mackay on -13 – but what is more revealing is how little known they are. More than seven in ten people are indifferent to Mackay, while almost two-thirds of Scots ticked ‘don’t know’ for Greer. Ouch.
With just half a year to go until Scotland heads to the polls, this latest data dump doesn’t bode well for politicians north of the border. Talk about the best of a bad bunch, eh?
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