FM: I’m the most popular leader in Scotland

JOHN Swinney claims he is the most popular party leader in Scotland and he will lead the SNP to victory.

The First Minister boldly declared yesterday he would be “making sure the public see enough of me and hear enough of me” during the six-week campaign before polls open on July 4.

He said: “I’m the most popular political party leader in Scotland. That’s a huge advantage to the SNP and we’re going to use it, we’re going to work hard in every constituency around the country, to make sure I’m visible and leading the campaign from the front. I’m the most popular leader in Scotland, dwarfing the people who ask me questions in parliament on a weekly basis.

“I’ll be making sure the public see enough of me and hear enough of me.”

Speaking at an SNP campaign event in Edinburgh, the party leader pointed to a recent YouGov survey which found he had a net favourability score of minus three with the public – meaning 35 per cent of voters have a favourable opinion of him, compared with 38 per cent who have an unfavourable opinion.

SNP strategists claim that is a better “score” than Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Tory Douglas Ross.

The same YouGov poll also found the Nationalists had dropped 10 points behind Labour when it came to Westminster voting intentions among Scots.

Asked how he would win back voters during the campaign, Swinney said: “Of course we have challenges in the opinion polls.

“But there are other details in opinion polls. People often make choices in elections because of their confidence in the people who are setting out arguments, and their political leadership.”

The First Minister has only been in the top job a matter of days after he replaced Humza Yousaf earlier this month.

But Swinney insisted he had now unified the SNP behind him ahead of what is expected to be a gruelling election campaign.

He added: “I promised my party, if they supported me, I would bring our party together – and I’ve done that. I’m very happy with the state of the SNP today.

“It’s a united, cohesive team. And united, cohesive teams go out and win elections, and that’s what we’re going to do.

“I’m here to get us back on the road again and get us moving. I’m optimistic we can do that.”

Asked if the SNP had enough money to fight the campaign following a sharp drop in membership numbers, he said: “Our campaigns are well-funded at local and national level.”