MORE than half of voters in Scotland do not believe Jeremy Corbyn’s appointment as leader of UK Labour will help the party win back votes north of the Border.
In the Panelbase poll commissioned for a Sunday newspaper, it was revealed that only 34 per cent of Scottish voters felt Corbyn’s victory would help Scottish Labour, while 53 per cent said a change of direction would have no bearing in Scotland.
Corbyn is expected to make his first trip to Scotland as leader of the party this week, and although momentum around the election of the Islington North MP has been growing, it seems the change of leader has had little effect on the Scottish electorate.
Despite Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale coming out in support of Corbyn last week, opinion is still divided among the party’s MSPs.
In August Dugdale herself spoke out against Corbyn, questioning the authority of someone who had “broken the whip
500 times” and adding that she didn’t want to spend her whole life “just carping from the sidelines”.
However, several Labour MSPs did pledge their support to Corbyn, the most prominent of whom was Neil Findlay, who ran the Scottish leg of his leadership campaign.
The news will come as little relief to the new leader, who targeted Scotland as a key battleground for the party.
Addressing claims that Labour were unelectable under their new leadership, new Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said he would prove his economic competence, claiming that some of George Osbourne’s current policies were “immoral”.
The Liverpudlian, who said he would “swim through vomit” to oppose the recent Welfare Bill, condemned Government cuts to tax credits.
“I think some of the policies they are pursuing are immoral. I think the consequences of them are immoral,” McDonnell said. “I think Osborne is cut off from the real world.”
UK-wide polling this weekend showed Labour sitting five points behind the Tories on 32 per cent, while the Liberal Democrats were projected to receive just six per cent of the UK-wide vote, less than half of Ukip’s 14 per cent.
In Scotland, approval ratings for new Labour leader Kezia Dugdale have failed to improve significantly, with the new Labour leader sitting on -5, compared to Nicola Sturgeon’s current rating of +28.
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