THE First Minister is by far the most popular UK politician among voters in Scotland, new figures from YouGov have shown.
The polling service tracks favourability rankings among all of the UK’s high-profile politicians and party leaders.
The latest survey, carried out from July 28-30, is thought to have played a role in the resignation of Jackson Carlaw from the Scottish Tory leadership position. It found that 48% of Scottish voters did not know who he was, and of those who did just 10% had a favourable view of him.
The figures also make grim reading for Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard, who has also received calls to resign this week. The poll uncovered that a massive 56% of voters could not identify him, and of those who could just 8% said they had a favourable view of the MSP.
READ MORE: Half of voters don't know who Jackson Carlaw is, poll reveals
As for favourability ratings, Nicola Sturgeon topped the list with a net ranking of 36.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak was second with a rating of 7, while Labour leader Keir Starmer was third with a rating of 1. Sunak, Sturgeon and Starmer were the only politicians to score an overall positive net favourability rating.
After that, Leonard came fourth with -28, followed by Carlaw with -32 and Dominic Raab and Matt Hancock who both scored -38.
The most disliked politicians are Home Secretary Priti Patel with -48, Prime Minister Boris Johnson with -51 and Michael Gove with -57.
Johnson’s top adviser Dominic Cummings was the worst ranked political figure with a net rating of -69.
The polling came after Carlaw announced his resignation from the Scottish Conservative leader position. He was in the role for just five months.
READ MORE: Michelle Ballantyne furious as she admits Jackson Carlaw was pushed
Douglas Ross has now confirmed his intention to run for the position. If successful, he will resign as MP for Moray and stand in next year’s Holyrood election.
Until then he has asked former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson to represent the party at First Minister’s Questions.
Senior Tories have denied Westminster had anything to do with Carlaw’s sudden resignation, insisting it was more related to the Holyrood group’s view of his performance as leader.
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