The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Labour sees late surge in polls
support: Party on 25% as campaigning starts up again
Scottish Labour is enjoying a lastminute general election surge in support, a new poll suggests.
Research by Survation for the Sunday Post found that once undecided voters were stripped out Kezia Dugdale’s party is on 25%, up eight points from a similar poll on April 23. The SNP is on 40% (down three points) while the Tories are backed by 27% (down one point) and the Lib Dems 6% (down three points).
National campaigning north of the border is expected to begin again today, following a 24-hour break in the wake of the London terror attacks.
Parties will focus on key seats, with SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon expected to reschedule a planned helicopter tour and take part in a BBC Question Time debate, while Conservative boss Ruth Davidson is heading to the North East.
On the issue of tactical voting, 44% of respondents to the Post’s poll said they would consider voting for a party or candidate that is not their first choice in order to stop a party or candidate they do not like from winning. Almost a third, 34%, said No and 22% were not sure.
Scottish Labour election campaign manager James Kelly said: “In seats such as Edinburgh South, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Lanark and Hamilton East, Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill, Midlothian and Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, only Labour can beat the SNP – the Tories aren’t at the races here.”
Angus Robertson, the SNP’s depute leader, said: “This poll shows that only the SNP is strong enough to beat the Tories in this election, and with polls narrowing across the UK, the result in Scotland may well determine the size of Theresa May’s majority.”
A Scottish Tory spokesman said: “This poll shows us up massively from the last general election, and we’re receiving the backing of voters right across Scotland.”