THE SNP is predicted to win 57 of Scotland's 59 seats at the next General Election in 2024, according to a new poll.
Such a result would be one higher than the 56 MPs the party netted in the 2015 ballot when it triumphed after losing the independence referendum the previous September.
Today's poll also forecast that Boris Johnson is on course to lose his own seat with the SNP predicted to potentially play a kingmaker role in forming the next UK government with neither the Tories nor Labour likely to win an outright majority in 2024.
This is the first detailed survey of the public's perception of the Prime Minister's handling of the recently concluded Brexit talks and the Covid-19 pandemic after he reversed plans to allow families to meet up at Christmas in parts of southern England to combat the spread of the virus.
More than 22,000 people were surveyed in a closely watched poll constituency-by-constituency poll over a four-week period in December, which was conducted by the research data company Focaldata and published by the Sunday Times.
The so-called multilevel regression and post-stratification (MRP) poll found the ruling Conservatives would lose 81 seats, wiping out the 80-seat majority. This would leave the Conservatives with 284 seats, while the opposition Labour Party would win 282 seats, the poll showed.
The Prime Minister is at risk to lose his own seat of Uxbridge, west of London, the poll found.
Johnson won a resounding election victory in 2019 that allowed him to take Britain out of the European Union's orbit on New Year's Eve after almost half a century of close ties.
But Johnson's premiership may increasingly be defined by the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has already killed more than 74,000 people and crushed the economy.
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