SNP president Michael Russell has dismissed claims that his party are “rattled” by polls showing a Labour resurgence – accusing Anas Sarwar of “fooling himself”.
Russell – the former Scottish constitution secretary – was speaking in the wake of a slew of UK-wide polls showing Labour enjoying record-breaking leads over the Tory Party.
A YouGov poll conducted from October 6-7 showed that Keir Starmer’s party had a 30-point lead over the Conservatives.
A second, from Opinium and conducted from October 5-7, showed Labour leading the Tories by 21 points. It was the largest Labour lead that pollster had ever found.
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The change in the political landscape, with the Tories expected to face a disastrous result at the next General Election if the polling holds, has led to accusations that the SNP are “rattled”.
In a post reshared by Scottish Labour leader Sarwar, the party’s depute leader Jackie Baillie wrote: “They are rattled. [It] is clear for all to see that the SNP’s claim to be a progressive party is a sham. They don’t care about kicking out this disastrous Tory government, all they care about is their narrow nationalist obsessions.
“It’s time for change – it’s time for Labour.”
Russell suggested that Scottish Labour’s leadership were “deluding” themselves.
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The latest Scotland-specific General Election polling, reported in the Scotsman, has suggested the SNP could win as many as 53 seats, with Labour on four, the LibDems two and the Tories facing a wipe-out.
Similar polling reported in the Times suggested the SNP would win 49 seats, Labour seven and the LibDems three.
SNP president Russell said: “Poor Anas, he’s welcome to delude himself if he wants to. I’ve never seen people look less rattled, and I’ve never seen people look more determined either.
“And if Anas thinks that this is rattled, he’s not very good at reading the body language. This is determination.
“The polls are actually really interesting, because they don’t show what Anas thinks they’re showing. They show that there’s an interchangeable Unionist vote, the vote that Anas will court because he’s going along with Tories in local councils.
“The SNP vote is solid and it is there, and the independence vote is increasing. Those are the significant things.
“If Anas wants to fool himself, he can fool himself if he likes. The reality is around us here, and that reality is moving towards independence.”
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Writing for the New Statesman, polling guru Professor John Curtice said of Scottish politics: “The electoral scene is dominated by the SNP, and that dominance has been unaffected by the recent developments at Westminster.
“On average, the three latest Scottish polls give the SNP 45% of the vote – exactly in line with the nationalists’ tally in 2019 and little changed from previous polls taken earlier this year.
“There is little sign that the possibility of a Labour government at Westminster is persuading SNP supporters to change their loyalties.”
He added: “Labour are still largely fishing in Unionist waters. The key question that still faces the party in Scotland is what they can say to persuade independence supporters to switch their allegiance.”
Seat projections of UK-wide polling have suggested that Labour could claim a massive majority in the Commons with the Tories plummeting to just a handful of seats, leaving the SNP as the second-biggest party and official opposition.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Nadhim Zahawi, Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt and Environment Secretary Ranil Jayawardena have all penned articles calling on the Tories to unite around new Prime Minister Liz Truss or face a severe electoral defeat.
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