Labour are ahead of the Conservatives in Holyrood voting intentions, an opinion poll has found, with the Scottish National Party maintaining a comfortable lead.
A Savanta ComRes poll for The Scotsman put Anas Sarwar’s party ahead of Douglas Ross’ Tories in both constituency and list votes.
It suggests the partygate scandal has affected Conservative fortunes, as senior figures like Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Prime Minister Boris Johnson have seen falls in their popularity.
The survey also found Sunak’s popularity had dropped by 26% compared to the company's last polling, with his favourability now sitting at -48%. Johnson’s net favourability was at -58%, having fallen by 7%.
On the independence question, the poll found No on 51% and Yes on 49%, when undecideds are removed.
Savanta ComRes interviewed 1,010 Scottish adults between 26 April and 3 May.
For Holyrood constituency voting, the SNP were on 46%, Labour on 25%, the Conservatives on 18% and the Liberal Democrats on 7%.
In the regional list vote, the SNP were on 31%, Labour on 23%, the Conservatives on 18%, the Greens on 14% and the Liberal Democrats on 10%.
Chris Hopkins, associate director at Savanta ComRes, explained: “Labour’s large lead over the Conservatives in second place, of both the constituency and list Holyrood voting intentions, is certainly eye-catching, but as with almost everything related to Labour at the moment, it feels more like a lead more to do with the fortunes of the Conservatives than anything Labour are doing especially well.
“The Conservatives’ Westminster fortunes have taken a battering since partygate, but it appears that the cost-of-living crisis has turned Scottish voters away from the party, and with there unlikely to be any remedy to many voters’ concerns about the affordability of basic items needed to live on the horizon, it’s possible things could get worse for the Conservatives before they get better – including on Thursday in the local elections.”
The results of Insider's week-long poll ahead of the election, albeit with a far smaller sample size, show that a majority of readers favour the Scottish Conservatives to run their local council, followed by Scottish Labour and the SNP.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest issue driving voting intentions was energy costs for individuals and businesses, followed by the possibility of tax cuts, more public spending and another vote on Scottish independence.
In response to the question on why people are planning to vote, one anonymous respondent said: "It's important that Scottish councils work to improve public services within their power, and work with Scottish Government to deliver these services and support those in greatest need."
Another commented: "Not voting removes the opportunity to comment on local issues - if people are concerned about businesses, schooling, public transport options, then they need to select the candidate best positioned to deliver on that."
Other comments took aim at the party in power nationally, with one stating: "It's important to prevent the SNP continuing to spend money on failed projects costing hundreds of millions to the detriment of those needing support."
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