Poll to Poll

With the new SNP leader due to be announced on Monday, new polling suggests that the Scottish public as a whole have the most favourable opinion of the Scottish Finance Secretary, Kate Forbes. Among Scottish voters as a whole, 27% have a favourable opinion of Kate Forbes, compared to 35% saying they have an unfavourable opinion of her. 22% said they have a favourable opinion of the Health Secretary, Humza Yousaf compared to 42% having an unfavourable opinion. For Ash Regan, 14% of Scottish voters as a whole have a favourable opinion of her, compared to 38% having an unfavorable opinion. Among those who voted SNP at the 2021 election however, 38% have a favourable opinion of Humza Yousaf compared to 37% saying the same about Kate Forbes and 22% saying so about Ash Regan. As Nicola Sturgeon prepares to bow out as First Minister, she remains by far the most popular leader in Scotland with a net approval rating of +8 compared to Scottish Conservative Leader, Douglas Ross on -39, Sco...

If the Government was hoping for a post Budget bounce, today’s polling by Opinium for The Observer will make for disappointing reading.   When it comes to headline voting intentions, the Conservatives on 29% and Labour on 44% are both unchanged from where they were in Opinium’s last poll two week ago. A slight chink of light for the Conservative Party will be the fact that whilst 27% believe that the Labour Leader, Keir Starmer and Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves would be most trusted to handle the economy, slightly more, 29% opted for the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. However digging deeper 33% say a Labour government led by Keir Starmer would be best at spending government money efficiently compared to 25% saying the same about a Conservative government led by Rishi Sunak. 32% say Labour at present would be best at running the economy, compared to 30% saying the Conservatives. 35% say Keir Starmer’s Labour Party would be best at improving their...

Following a week which has seen a number of feisty debates between those vying to replace Nicola Sturgeon as Leader of the SNP, new polling by Ipsos for Channel 4 News will be bringing some cheer for the Finance Secretary, Kate Forbes. Among the public as a whole, 32% said they would pick Forbes as the best First Minister of the three candidates, followed by 24% who said the same about the Health Secretary, Humza Yousaf and 8% opting for Ash Regan. However, among those who voted SNP at the last Scottish Parliamentary election in 2021, 33% would opt for Humza Yousaf to be the First Minister followed by 32% saying the same about Kate Forbes. Among the public as a whole 53% trust Kate Forbes a great deal or a fair amount to stand up for Scotland’s interests in discussions with the UK Government, compared to 47% saying the same about Humza Yousaf and 34% opting for Ash Regan. Ipsos continues: “Among SNP voters, Forbes and Yousaf are both well regarded when it comes to standing up fo...

It’s been a week of two halves for the Prime Minister. On Monday he started on a high with the announcement of the new Windsor Agreement, welcomed across the political spectrum as answering many of the problems created by Brexit in Northern Ireland. By the end of the week however, the focus returned, thanks to What’s App messages published in The Telegraph, to how the Government handled the COVID pandemic and whether Boris Johnson lied to Parliament about parties in Downing Street during periods of national lockdowns. Based on questions asked between the 1 st and 3 rd March, Opinium’s latest polling for The Observer reveals that when it comes to headline voting intentions   Labour are unchanged from a fortnight ago on 44% with the Conservatives down 1 point on 27%. When it comes to Rishi Sunak’s personal approval rating he has a net rating of -8, with 30% of respondents approving of the job he is doing compared to 38% disapproving of it. Opinium notes that this represen...