KEIR Starmer appears to be launching a charm offensive against Scottish voters by travelling across the Border 232 per cent more often since the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon.
Analysis of press coverage of the Labour leader’s trips to Scotland suggests Starmer is averaging an appearance north of the Border nearly once a month.
According to analysis by The National, he has made 0.85 trips a month since the beginning of the year.
All his trips this year have come after Sturgeon announced she was standing down as leader of the SNP on February 15.
His first appearance came just days after the shock resignation at the Scottish Labour conference on February 19.
After that, he visited Cambuslang at the beginning of March and took a trip to Caithness towards the end of the month.
He had an overnight trip from May 25 taking in visits to Kirkcaldy before hitting Rutherglen, where his party hopes to gain a new seat in an expected by-election.
In 2022, the Labour leader visited Scotland just three times – a rate of 0.25 visits per month.
It appears Labour want to boost Starmer’s profile north of the Border, where he suffers from poor and apparently declining popularity ratings.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer panned for claim EU is 'nicking our dinner money' in Express article
His trips to Scotland also appear not to have improved his popularity among Scottish voters.
Pollsters at Redfield and Wilton have tracked his approval rating in Scotland since December last year – and found it to be in decline.
Figures released by the company show his current net approval rating at minus 3% – compared with a positive rating of more than 10% late last year.
At the next election, Labour need to win more than 130 seats to form a government with the slimmest of majorities – a feat which, if achieved, would outshine Tony Blair’s historic 1997 landslide victory.
But he has been accused of using Scotland as a “photo op” and failing to speak out about Westminster vetoing Scottish legislation like the Deposit Return Scheme and the Gender Recognition Reform Bill.
Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman said: “Scotland isn’t a photo op.
“Where was Starmer when the Tories were riding roughshod over the Scottish Parliament to veto the Gender Recognition Reform Bill?
READ MORE: What does Scotland's first AI chatbot think of Scottish Labour and Anas Sarwar?
“Or giving themselves unprecedented new powers to veto the Deposit Return Scheme? Where will he be when these powers are inevitably used again?
“Walking down a high street with a rosette and photographer won’t cut it.
“Scotland needs politicians who will stand up for Scotland’s democracy, and so far Starmer has refused to do so.”
A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “Poll after poll shows that the people of Scotland are turning to Labour to deliver the change that Scotland needs.
“Keir Starmer will be a Prime Minister for all of the United Kingdom and is committed to standing up for the people of Scotland.”
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