2 out of 3 say Sturgeon should quit job if she’s broken rules
... while a majority of Scots are now backing the Union for the first time in almost a year
THE vast majority of Scots think Nicola Sturgeon should quit if she is found to have broken government rules, while support for independence and the SNP has slumped.
Two new polls have revealed support for the Union has now edged ahead of backing for independence.
There has also been a significant decline in support for the SNP, putting the prospect of the party winning a majority in May’s election in doubt.
One of the surveys, by Panelbase for the Sunday Times, piles pressure on Miss Sturgeon over her conduct when dealing with issues relating to complaints about Alex Salmond.
It found 35 per cent of Scots already believe she should resign – and this rises to 61 per cent if she is found to have broken the ministerial code. A total of 24 per cent say she should not resign.
Some 40 per cent of Scots think the First Minister has not been entirely honest about issues relating to Mr Salmond, compared with 35 per cent who believe she has been honest.
And 29 per cent of Scots say the Scottish Government’s handling of the complaints makes them less likely to vote SNP – more than double the proportion of people (14 per cent) who say it has made them more likely to vote SNP.
The Panelbase poll also showed support for independence has fallen by three percentage points since January, to 46 per cent, while those in favour of remaining in the UK has increased by three percentage points, to 47 per cent. When don’t knows are excluded, 51 per cent would vote No and 49 per cent would back Yes.
A separate Savanta ComRes survey for Scotland on Sunday gives No a 52-48 lead when don’t knows are excluded. It means support for the Union has edged ahead for the first time since last March, after 22 previous polls put Yes in the lead.
It also found 43 per cent of voters say they trust Miss Sturgeon less due to the Salmond inquiry, compared with 26 per cent who trust her more.
Some 46 per cent trust the Government less, compared with 15 per cent who trust it more, while 45 per cent trust the SNP less and 16 per cent trust the party more.
A Scottish Conservative spokesman said: ‘More and more people are seeing that Nicola Sturgeon has tried to cover up what really happened with Alex Salmond. Trust in the First Minister is plummeting as the public realise she has misled parliament and broken the ministerial code.
‘The Conservatives will keep leading the opposition in holding the SNP to account. We have lodged votes of no confidence in both Nicola Sturgeon and her deputy, John Swinney.’
According to the Panelbase poll, the SNP is still on course to win 65 seats in May’s Holyrood election. But support has plummeted since the previous poll in January, with the SNP now on 47 per cent on the constituency vote, down five percentage points, and 42 per cent on the regional list, down four points. The Conservatives are in second place on 23 per cent on the constituency vote, up three percentage points, and 22 per cent on the regional vote, up two percentage points.
Labour is up three percentage points on both votes, giving it 20 per cent for the constituency and 19 per cent for the list.
It is estimated the results would leave the SNP with 65 seats, a majority of one, while the Conservatives would be on 29, Labour 25, the Lib Dems on seven and the Greens on three.
The polls were the first carried out after Mr Salmond and Miss Sturgeon’s evidence to the inquiry on the handling of harassment complaints.
The Savanta ComRes survey puts support for independence at 43 per cent, compared with 46 per cent in favour of the
Union and just under 10 per cent who don’t know.
Scottish Labour constitution spokesman Colin Smyth said: ‘Our country is deep in economic crisis and the energies of all politicians should be on uniting the country and building a sustainable recovery.’
Pamela Nash, chief executive of the Scotland in Union camBrown paign group, said: ‘With a successful vaccination programme working for everyone in the country and UK-wide schemes that ensure people’s jobs are protected, it’s clear that we are stronger together.’
SNP deputy leader Keith said: ‘The SNP is looking forward to an election campaign where we will win support from across Scotland for our efforts to protect people from Covid, support Scotland’s NHS, create jobs and make sure that as we recover from the pandemic, Scotland’s future is decided by the people who live here – not Boris Johnson’s Tory party.’
Meanwhile, Miss Sturgeon will today try to push the focus away from her conduct in relation to complaints about Mr Salmond by pledging to get on with ‘navigating a path through Covid’.
A statement issued by the SNP yesterday highlighted that, with the parliamentary and independent inquiries now considering their reports, the party will ‘get on with the crucial job’ of building Scotland’s recovery.
‘Trust in her is plummeting’
NICOLA Sturgeon may be reluctant to confirm she will quit if she is found to have breached the ministerial code.
But voters have decided for her – more than six out of ten believe her position wouldn’t be tenable if she is found guilty.
It’s little wonder that large numbers also question whether she has been telling the truth about the Salmond affair.
Her Government has behaved despicably as it sought to suppress crucial information demanded by a parliamentary inquiry.
The SNP might be convinced it can deceive the electorate, but voters aren’t so easily fooled. Support for independence is in decline, and the party’s projected lead in polls for the Holyrood election has diminished. Its hopes of winning a majority – and therefore keeping its dream of independence alive – are on a knife-edge.
This is a row no longer confined to the bubble of the Scottish parliament – and voters are shocked and appalled at what they have learned.
Miss Sturgeon faces a series of hurdles as she attempts to cling on. The Holyrood committee probing the Salmond shambles will deliver its report in the coming weeks.
And a separate standards probe by former Irish prosecutor James Hamilton will decide whether she misled MSPs.
The First Minister would never be forgiven for failing to achieve a majority, which the party desperately needs to press the separatist case. And this protracted period of internecine warfare means that even if she survives until polling day, she may face a harsh judgment at the ballot box.
The Nationalists could yet pay a heavy price for their hubris after 14 years of failure, incompetence, evasion and secrecy.