KEZIA Dugdale’s leadership of Scottish Labour could be hanging on a shoogly peg as a new poll suggests voters don’t like her or her party very much.
The Ipsos-Mori poll for STV said Labour could face their worst election result since 1922 next Thursday, suggesting that they will likely come third behind the Tories.
Dugdale’s own approval rating has dropped 16 points in the last two months, and at -5 she is the only mainstream party leader to have a negative score.
The poll overshadowed Labour’s optimistic manifesto launch in Edinburgh. Party sources were briefing against Dugdale over the weekend, with rumours that former MP Anas Sarwar, who is top of the Glasgow list, would mount a leadership bid when elected. Sarwar denied the claims saying he was “100 per cent Team Kez Dugdale.”
“She’s a phenomenal leader of the Labour party. [She] has been setting the agenda in Scottish politics and that’s something the entire movement is proud of,” he said. “My support for Kez is loyal and unconditional; I’m 100 per cent supportive of her”
In the constituency vote, the poll put the SNP on 51 per cent, Labour on 19 per cent, the Tories on 18 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on six per cent. In the list vote, the SNP are on 45 per cent, the Tories on 19, Labour on 17, the Greens on 10, the Liberal Democrats on seven, and Ukip on one per cent.
This, according to the Weber Shandwick Scotland Votes seat predictor puts the SNP on 71 seats, and the Tories on 23, Labour on 20, the Greens on nine, and the Liberal Democrats on six.
When asked which party has the best policies for the country as a whole, respondents ranked the SNP first, the Tories second and Labour third. Most voters said they knew what the SNP and Tories stood for, but not so much Labour.
The party’s plan to increase the top rate of income tax from 45p to 50p on the pound is backed by 75 per cent of voters.
Around 53 per cent of Scots said they thought the SNP best understood the problems facing Scotland while Labour and the Conservatives were tied on 11 per cent.
Though there is strong support for the SNP across the board, a majority of voters did not believe the Scottish Government has done a good job of handling public spending and improving living standards since 2011.
A Scottish Labour spokesman said: “In our manifesto today we set out our plan to use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to ask the richest one per cent to pay more so we can invest in our schools and stop the cuts. This poll shows 75 per cent of voters support that policy. If people want change, if they want to stop the cuts so we can invest in the future of our economy then they need to give both their votes to Labour.”
SNP business convener Derek Mackay said: “This is another very encouraging poll for the SNP which shows that our positive message has strong support on the doorsteps – but we take absolutely nothing for granted and are working hard for every vote.”
Sarah Beattie-Smith, Scottish Greens MSP candidate for the South of Scotland, said: “Across Scotland’s eight regions we are hearing from increasing numbers of voters who are weighing up how to cast their constituency and regional votes.
“More and more people realise they can vote differently with their two votes and a cross in the box for the Scottish Green Party will get a Green team of MSPs working for a bolder Holyrood and a better Scotland.”
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said: “This is an encouraging poll for us. We now intend to work harder than ever over the next week to show people we can be the strong opposition to the SNP our country needs.
“That is the job I want to do for Scotland at this election – so we don’t go back to another independence referendum, but instead get a government that will focus on what matters.”
A spokesman for Scotland Stronger In Europe said: “Scotland Stronger In Europe supporters are campaigning hard, demonstrating the gains of staying in Europe in terms of more jobs and lower prices, and we take nothing for granted.”
Respondents were also asked about the upcoming referendum on EU membership, with 60 per cent backing a vote to remain, 26 per cent planning on voting to leave and 13 per cent undecided.
Ipsos Mori Scotland surveyed 1,015 adults aged 16 or older between April 18 and 25.
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