Labour have the leaders in place
Scottish Labour leader’s approval rating soars
LABOUR at a UK and Scottish level have not looked like winning any national elections for over a decade.
The party has selected a succession of poor leaders who were shunned by voters.
Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn never cut the mustard and were rejected at the ballot box.
Richard Leonard and a host of others led Scottish Labour and were humiliated by the SNP.
But now for the first time in many years, the tide appears to be turning and Labour looks impressive in the UK and Scotland.
Sir Keir Starmer is not a fiery leader but he is seen as a decent and trustworthy alternative to the liar in Downing Street.
He looks like a Prime Minister and may well end up in Downing Street.
Now a new poll has shown that Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has a higher net popularity rating than Nicola Sturgeon. This is a remarkable turnaround for someone who has only been in post for over a year.
Nicola Sturgeon has dominated Scottish politics for nearly a decade, winning eight out of eight elections, but she now has a rival.
Part of this is down to Sarwar but it is also a reflection on the competence issues facing the Scottish Government.
Ministers should have sorted out the ScotRail debacle and they should also have ensured the ferries scandal never happened.
There are major issues with the health service and in the attainment gap in education.
Sturgeon led Scotland well during the pandemic, but her Government is beginning to look tired.
Competition is good in politics and it is to the benefit of voters that Labour looks credible again.
The Scottish Labour leader came top of the popularity contest weeks after securing second place at the council elections – his party’s strongest showing in years.
The First Minister has been Scotland’s pre-eminent political leader for years, winning eight elections in a row and steering the country through the pandemic.
But an Ipsos poll for STV reveals she has fierce competition from Sarwar, who took over last year.
Over half of those polled – 53 per cent – said they were satisfied with her performance as FM, with 41 per cent dissatisfied and six per cent not knowing. Her net approval rating came out as +12 – not as good as +19 for Sarwar, who, despite having a lower satisfaction rating, did not have as many people saying they were unhappy with his leadership.
Embattled Scots Tory leader Douglas Ross was the most unpopular Holyrood leader, with a net rating of -27.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton polled +4, while Green co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater had a rating of +2 each.
The poll was based on 1000 Scottish adults aged 16+ and was carried out between 23rd to 29th May. The data comes as criticism mounts over the Sturgeon Government’s performance over the ferries debacle and the failure to close the educational attainment gap.
Meanwhile, the poll found that a record number of Scots are unsatisfied with Boris Johnson as Prime Minister and many believe they are worse off today than they were a year ago.
Just 12 per cent of the public believe the Tory leader is doing a good job while 83 per cent do not, with the rest undecided.
Emily Gray, managing director of Ipsos in Scotland said: “Boris Johnson has never received positive ratings in Scotland but these latest Ipsos and STV News findings are a new low for the Prime Minister.”