Poll: Anas Sarwar is most popular leader in Scotland but SNP remain dominant

Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar is Scotland’s most popular party leader with a net satisfaction rating of +18 while Prime Minister Boris Johnson has sunk to an all-time low at -71.

Despite a small drop in satisfaction with her performance, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also remains relatively popular with a +12 net satisfaction rating.

According to the poll from Ipsos Mori, the SNP is set to remain well in the lead at the next general election with 44 per cent of voters saying they would back the party. That is one percentage point less than the 2019 results.

But Scottish Labour has leapfrogged the Scottish Tories, with 23 per cent of voters backing them compared to 19 per cent for Douglas Ross’s party.

Almost two thirds (64 per cent) of Scottish voters believe they would be worse off if the Conservatives won the next general election.

The question of Scottish independence remains neck and neck, with half of voters who have a response saying the would vote Yes and the other half No.

On key issues, nearly a third of voters (30 per cent) said the rising cost of living was a major concern – up 27 percentage points from the last Ipsos survey in November.

The NHS was named a top issue by 27 per cent, education by 24 per cent and the economy by 22 per cent.

The poll also found voters continue to trust the SNP most to grow the economy, manage the NHS and education, and tackle the cost of living.

Emily Gray, managing director of Ipsos in Scotland, said: “Although the SNP continues to dominate voting intentions, there are tentative signs of a recovery for Scottish Labour, with continued positive ratings for Anas Sarwar, and Labour ahead of the Conservatives on Westminster voting intention.

“However, the scale of the challenge facing Labour is underlined by the fact that after 15 years in government the SNP remains the most trusted party across a wide range of policy areas.”