SNP most trusted to deliver for Scotland – Labour’s problems mount up

In Glasgow, 40 per cent trusted the SNP most compared to 16 per cent who said Labour.

In Glasgow, 40 per cent trusted the SNP most compared to 16 per cent who said Labour

The SNP and its leader to be Nicola Sturgeon are the party most trusted in Scotland to deliver further powers for the Scottish Parliament, according to new polling published today.

The findings, collected by TNS, who surveyed 993 people aged 16 and over, reported that 37 per cent said they trusted the SNP to deliver the extra powers for Holyrood the country wants, compared to just 15 per cent who trusted Labour, 8 per cent who trusted the Conservatives and 1 per cent who trusted the Lib Dems.

Compounding the air of disaster that continues to surround Labour in Scotland, the SNP are clearly more trusted in Labour’s Scottish heartlands to deliver on extra powers.

In Glasgow, 40 per cent trusted the SNP most, compared to 16 per cent who said Labour. In the West of Scotland too, the SNP are trusted to deliver by 40 per cent of those who were eligible to vote in the referendum last month – compared to the 18 per cent who said they trusted labour.

Asked which individuals they trusted most to deliver, the SNP’s next leader and first minister to be Nicola Sturgeon comes out on top, trusted by 24 per cent of those polled. Gordon Brown is the UK-wide politician most trusted to deliver extra powers, enjoying the support of 15 per cent of those surveyed, no doubt likely to heighten the speculation that a future role as leader of Scottish Labour at Holyrood might be beckoning.

Outgoing first minister Alex Salmond is trusted by 12 per cent of those who responded to the poll, followed by 6 per cent who trust David Cameron and 3 per cent who trust Alistair Darling.

That just 1 per cent of respondents said they trust Ed Miliband to deliver is yet another reminder of the Labour Leader’s inability to connect with the party’s heartland areas, which may lead to the party going backwards north of the border in next May’s General Election.

Nicola Sturgeon, as with her party, also remains most trusted to deliver across much of Labour’s historic strongholds in Glasgow and the West of Scotland.

On the back of the huge turnout seen in the referendum, the poll also finds a hunger to continue engaging in political debate, with 37 per cent of respondents having said they are more likely to vote in future elections as a result of the independence campaign, compared to just 6 per cent who said it has made them more unlikely to vote.

32 per cent of respondents said that it has made them more likely to get involved in public debates about local or national issues in the future, with just 12 per cent saying the referendum campaign has made them less likely to do so.

The figures are especially encouraging in highlighting how the debate around independence has energised younger people. 64 per cent of 16-24-year-olds and 47 per cent of 25-34 year-olds said that they would be more likely to vote in elections in Scotland, whilst 40 per cent of all those aged 16 to 34 said that the referendum has made them more likely to engage in public debates on local and national issues.

Commenting on the findings, head of TNS Scotland Tom Costley said:

“This is our first indication of the referendum effect – whether the remarkable turnout in that vote, and the high level of public engagement in the campaign, will carry on into future political campaigns and elections.

“The indication from the poll is that many people, and young people in particular, are energised to continue to take a more active part in political life.

“But the poll also shows that all of the main political parties, especially the unionist ones, have a lot of work to do to convince voters in Scotland that the promise of further devolution will be fulfilled.”

Ed Jacobs is a contributing editor to Left Foot Forward

5 Responses to “SNP most trusted to deliver for Scotland – Labour’s problems mount up”

  1. The_Average_Joe_UK

    Let’s compare the confident, charismatic, intelligent, politically savvy SNP to the Labour party shall we?

    Err perhaps not. Labours: playing politics, career greasy pole climbers deserve their just desserts

  2. rollo_tommasi

    Is that the intelligent, savy SNP who just lost their referendum on their key policy which they have campaigned for 80 years+??

  3. The_Average_Joe_UK

    Yes it is, the very same. They may have lost the referendum, but they got a brilliant deal for Scotland and destroyed their opponents in the process. Labour could lose 20+ MP’s in Scotland, yet the SNP are far from finished. They have set themselves up to be the ruling party under Devo max. Many would call that a win. Labour in parmanent opposition and effectively redundant.

    Bumbling Brown has put his party in an awful position as a part of his return. EVEL could mean little to no voice in the future.

    You obviously spent a lot of time on your retort. Have youconsidered working for Miliband? You are qualified.

  4. rollo_tommasi

    Actually the fact is that Labour has trashed the SNP in each and every by-election for the Scottish Parliament since May 2011:-

    20 June 2013 the swing from the SNP to Labour in the Aberdeen Donside by-election was 9%;

    24 October 2013 the swing from the SNP to Labour in the Dunfermline by-election was 7%; and

    24 January 2014 the swing from the SNP to Labour in the Cowdenbeath by-election was 11.25%

    As stated previously the SNP lost the referendum – and the SNP lost the
    referendum in a very big and a very humiliating way. The fact is that the SNP lost the referendum in 28 of the 32 electoral areas in Scotland – the SNP lost in 87.5% of Scotland. Virtually all age groups in Scotland rejected the SNP and its raison d’être – the age groups 16-24, 40-59, 60-64 and 65+ all voted NO to the SNP. The SNP and its raison d’être were even rejected by SNP voters – with 28,000 more SNP voters voting NO than Labour voters voting Yes.

  5. The_Average_Joe_UK

    Guess you were one of the guys thinking Labour would win Heywood & Middleton with a 20% lead.

Comments are closed.