ALMOST half of voters in Scotland are able to identify Jackson Carlaw, polling has revealed.
The MSP resigned as Scottish Tory leader last night, less than six months after being elected, saying he had reached the “simple if painful” conclusion that he was not up to the job.
He said he was not the “person best placed to lead” the case for the Union into next year’s Holyrood election.
Senior Tories insisted Carlaw’s departure was nothing to do with Boris Johnson or Dominic Cummings and more to do with the Holyrood group’s unhappiness with his performance.
READ MORE: Jackson Carlaw quits after just five months as Scottish Tory leader
Recent opinion polls have put the Scottish Tories on track for losses at next year’s election.
Within minutes of the news breaking it was rumoured that former Scotland Office minister Douglas Ross, who met with Johnson in his Moray constituency last week, was the favourite to replace Carlaw.
Now former leader Ruth Davidson is set to stand in for a new leader at FMQs until someone is elected. She is calling on colleagues to back Ross’s bid.
New YouGov polling, reported in The Times, revealed that nearly half (48%) of voters could not identify Carlaw, and just 10% felt favourably towards him while 42% did not. He had a net approval rating of -32.
The only politician with less visibility was Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard who was not known to 56% of voters. He has been in the position since 2017.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was given a +36 approval rating, while Johnson received -51. The poll of 1135 adults in Scotland was carried out between July 28-30.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel