RICHARD Leonard’s leadership of Scottish Labour is in serious doubt after a new poll showed the party losing seven seats at next year’s election.
According to the Panelbase survey for the Sunday Times, Labour’s share of both the constituency vote and the regional list would fall to 15%.
Astonishingly, that’s less than half what they took in 2003 when they polled 34.6% and 29.3%
It’s a far cry even from the 2016 election, when, under Kezia Dugdale’s leadership, the party took 21.6% in the constituency vote, and 19.1% in the regional list.
The dire prediction will only fuel speculation that Leonard’s time in charge will need to come to an end.
Last month, during a virtual “Call Keir” question and answer session with voters in Scotland last week, Keir Starmer was told Leonard had “no charisma”.
Douglas, a caller from East Kilbride, said that he and his 92-year-old father had been lifelong Labour voters until the last General Election.
Asked by Starmer why Labour had lost their votes, he said: “There was nobody there that I could relate to.
READ MORE: Wee Ginger Dug: What the newest poll for Yes is telling us
“I couldn’t even tell you now who the leader is of the Scottish Labour Party.”
Speaking after the Call Keir session with Lanarkshire residents, Starmer was asked if he was concerned about Leonard’s apparent lack of public profile and asked if he should take the party into the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections.
He replied: “I do think he’s the right man to lead us into those elections.
“I’m working closely with him and the visibility, the impact, the punch the Labour Party has is as much my responsibility as anybody else’s.
“The best way I can do that is by spending time in Scotland, being in Scotland and I intend to do that as much as I can.
The polling will also be unwelcome at Tory HQ too, with the party also down to 20% and 18%.
That would see Jackson Carlaw losing seven of his MSPs, taking them down to 24.
Tory MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston described the poll as “disappointing” but said the media was to blame.
Taking to Twitter, he wrote: “It comes after months of broadcast media providing an almost unchallenged platform for the SNP to push a false narrative that fatal testing delays, a crisis in our care homes and 4000+ Covid-19 deaths is somehow ‘getting it right’.
READ MORE: Ruth Wishart: A Parliament that can't pass laws is no Parliament at all
“The SNP has no new indy ideas. They’ve still no answers to the questions they failed to answer in 2014. They still want to break Scotland away from our largest trading partner, and do so at a time of real economic uncertainty. They’ve no idea even of the currency they’d use.”
However, according to the poll, the public do feel the SNP is “getting it right”.
Support for Nicola Sturgeon’s party in the constituency vote was up two points to 55%.
On the list, the SNP were on 50%, the Greens on 8% and the LibDems on 6%.
That would give Sturgeon an extra 11 MSPs, taking her to 74, securing another four years.
The LibDems would stay still, keeping their five MSPs, while the Greens would gain another three seats, taking them to nine.
The party’s co-leader, Patrick Harvie, tweeted: “Polling suggests the Greens are on track for our best ever result – the only opposition party to make gains, and taking seats in every region of Scotland for the first time.
“We’ll keep working hard to make a difference for people and planet, and make this a reality!”
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