Challenges for the new First Minister Humza Yousaf, as half of Scots think Scotland is going in the wrong direction

New polling conducted by Ipsos Scotland between 17th and 21st March finds that:

• Half of Scots feel things in Scotland are going in the wrong direction, with just a quarter saying things are headed in the right direction.
• Across all the policy areas the poll asked about, more felt the Scottish Government had done a bad job than felt they had done a good job
• Ratings of Scottish Government performance on the NHS are particularly negative - 53% say they have done a bad job of improving the NHS in Scotland, compared with just 23% that say they have done a good job.

Is Scotland heading in the right or wrong direction?

Half of Scots (50%) feel that, generally speaking things in Scotland are heading in the wrong direction, while just a quarter (25%) feel they are heading in the right direction (19% said ‘neither’ and 6% were unsure).

• Public feelings on this issue were similar to those recorded in our January 2023 and October 2022 polls.
• As in earlier polls, SNP voters are more optimistic – 37% of those who voted SNP on their 2021 Holyrood constituency vote said things in Scotland were going in the right direction.
• However, this figure is a little lower than the 44% of SNP 2021 voters who felt things were going in the right direction earlier in the year.

Ratings of Scottish Government performance

Across a range of policy areas – managing Scotland’s economy, and improving the NHS, education and living standards – more people say the Scottish Government has done a bad job than a good job.

• They are particularly negative about how good a job the Scottish Government has done of improving the NHS – 53% say they have done a bad job, and just 23% a good job – a ‘net’ rating (good job minus bad job) of -30.
• The Scottish Government’s score card with the public is also negative for:
  • improving people’s own standards of living (21% good job, 45% bad job, ‘net’ -24)
  • improving living standards for people on low incomes (27% good job, 45% bad job, ‘net’ -18)
  • improving the education system in Scotland (26% good job, 45% bad job, ‘net’ -19), and
  • managing Scotland’s economy (good job 30%, bad job 46%, ‘net’ -16).
• Ratings are very similar to earlier Ipsos polls, in late January 2023 and March 2022.

Rachel Ormston, Research Director at Ipsos in Scotland, commented:

These findings underline Humza Yousaf’s very full in-tray. He takes office at a point when the Scottish public is feeling pretty gloomy about the direction of their country, and negative about Scottish Government performance across a range of key areas. Addressing these challenges and turning around public perceptions, particularly on the NHS and cost of living, will no doubt feature strongly on his first to-do list.

Technical note

• Ipsos interviewed a representative quota sample of 1,023 adults aged 16+ in Scotland.
• The survey took place online between 17th and 21st March 2023.
• Data has been weighted to the known offline population proportions.
• Where results do not sum to 100%, this may be due to computer rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of “don’t know” categories.
• All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.