THE SNP have said Labour provide “no hope” of preventing a Tory government, with a new survey suggesting most party members have little confidence in Keir Starmer.
Polling by YouGov also found Labour voters believe Nicola Sturgeon is doing a better job than their own leader.
When asked what the most likely result of a General Election would be if it were held tomorrow, 84% of Labour members predicted the Tories would be in government.
And nearly a third – 29% – said this was likely to be a large Tory majority.
When it comes to the scheduled date of the election in 2024, only a slightly higher number of members predicted a Labour government compared to the Tories remaining in power – at 43% and 40% respectively.
Another YouGov poll revealed that Sturgeon has a higher favourability rating than Starmer among those who voted Labour in the 2019 General Election.
READ MORE: Former FM tells Keir Starmer independence 'isn't going to go away'
Just over half – 53% – think the First Minister is doing a good job, compared with just 42% for Starmer. SNP depute leader Keith Brown said: “Keir Starmer has been so inept as Labour leader that not even his own party members think he is capable of leading Labour to victory in the next general election.
“Even with the Tories being mired in sleaze and scandal, Keir Starmer still cannot topple the Tories. That leaves Scotland facing the prospect of another decade of Tory governments we did not vote for. It will also mean Scotland is subjected to a Tory government that is threatening the powers of our Scottish Parliament and the future of Scotland’s NHS.
“Labour has also let down Scotland by subjecting us to the hardest of Tory Brexits. They have now given up on the UK rejoining the EU, meaning the only main party committed to rejoining the EU is the SNP.
“Labour provides no hope for the people of Scotland in preventing a Tory government, and they continue to fall into irrelevance in Scotland. The only way for Scotland to escape Tory rule is with independence.”
Meanwhile, less than half of Scots would support accepting a decision by Boris Johnson to refuse another referendum if there is a pro-independence majority at Holyrood after the election, a poll has found.
A survey carried out by Savanta ComRes last week questioned people about what they think the next steps should be if a request for another referendum is again refused.
Just under a third – 29% – said they would strongly support accepting the decision. Another 14% said they would somewhat support it.
When it comes to rejecting that decision, 22% said they would strongly oppose it and 9% said they would somewhat oppose it, while those who didn’t know or had no preference totalled 27%.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer under fire after flying from London to Scotland for campaign visit
The survey also looked at what possible other next steps people thought the Scottish Government and independence campaign should take if agreeing to a referendum is ruled out by Johnson.
The most popular was peacefully protesting the decision, supported by 37% of people. Around a third backed taking the UK to court, while a similar number believed lobbying the international community to recognise Scotland as independent should be the next course of action.
While 28% said legislation should be passed to hold a “wildcat referendum” anyway – and 26% supported declaring independence unilaterally.
The Scottish Government published a draft referendum bill last month.
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