Plaudits for Sturgeon

The Scottish Government’s response to the corinavirus crisis is winning plaudits from Scots across the political divide.

A new poll for Yougov has shown the vast majority of the population – including Conservative and Labour voters – approve of Holyrood’s handling of the pandemic.

Among SNP voters, the rate rises to 85%, just above Liberal Democrats at 84%, while 70% of Tory and Labour voters say they are happy with the way Nicola Sturgeon’s government is steering the country through the emergency.

Fewer than one in five (19%) of respondents said they disapproved.

Confidence in the NHS’S handling of the outbreak in Scotland is also high at 89%, as is the rating for the quality of care of Scotland at 82%

However, the picture for the rest of the UK is split almost down the middle, with 47% of Scots saying the Westminster government has handled the response well and 48% saying they are unhappy.

More than half (55%) of Scots say they are dissatisfied with Boris Johnson’s performance, while 40% say they have confidence in his leadership.

Four in 10 (42%) of Scots said lockdown measures should not be eased until death numbers have fallen, while 15% said controls should stay in place until there are no new cases. Just 4% say they want a change now.

The SNP’S current vote share for next year’s planned Scottish parliament election is at 54% in constituencies and 45% on the regional lists, which would likely give it a majority at Holyrood.

The Conservatives are on 23% for both and Labour on 12%.

Yougov interviewed 1,095 people in Scotland between April 24 and 27.