Scots less happy with prospect of the Scottish Government working closely with UK Labour than with Sinn Féin

More Scots would be unhappy with the SNP working closely with the UK government at Westminster than say they would be unhappy about them working closely with the Northern Ireland Executive, led by Sinn Féin.

• 34% of people in Scotland say they would be unhappy about the Scottish Government working closely with the UK Labour Government, compared with 27% who would be unhappy about them working with Sinn Féin.
• Fewer (17%) would be unhappy about the Scottish Government working closely with the Welsh Government, led by Plaid Cymru.
• 65% of Scots would be unhappy if the SNP were to work together with Reform UK at Holyrood.

Rachel Ormston, Research Director at Ipsos Scotland, commented: 

John Swinney’s commitment to dialogue with his nationalist counterparts in Wales and Northern Ireland has attracted both plaudits and criticism in the media. Ipsos’ findings suggest that he may find more public support for closer working with Plaid Cymru in Wales than with Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland. However, with relations with the UK government continuing to be strained by the SNP’s request for a section 30 order to enable a second independence referendum and the UK Government’s refusal to consider this, it seems it is working relations with the UK Government which a substantial minority of the public is least comfortable with.

Feelings about the Scottish Government working closely with other UK administrations

The Scottish public were asked how happy or unhappy they would feel about the Scottish Government working closely with the Welsh Government, led by Plaid Cymru, the Northern Ireland Executive, led by Sinn Féin, and the UK Labour Government at Westminster.

People were most likely to say they would be unhappy with the Scottish Government working closely with the UK Labour Government at Westminster – 34% said this, compared with 27% who would be unhappy about them working closely with the Northern Ireland Executive, led by Sinn Féin, and 17% who would be unhappy with close working with Plaid Cymru’s Welsh Government. 

Around 3 in 10 people in each case say they would be happy for the Scottish Government to work closely with the UK Government (30%) and with Sinn Féin (29%), while again, a higher proportion (38%) would be happy for them to work closely with the Welsh Government. 
 

Feelings about SNP collaboration with opposition parties

As a minority government, the SNP is expected to collaborate with other parties to pass its legislative agenda. The public is least happy at the prospect of the SNP collaborating with Reform UK – 65% said they would be unhappy if the SNP Government worked together with them. Overall, the public would be least unhappy with the SNP working with the Liberal Democrats – 32% would be happy, outweighing the 30% who would be unhappy.  Among those who voted SNP in their constituency, however, the pro-independence Scottish Greens would be their preferred partner (67% of SNP voters would be happy for the SNP to work together with the Greens, far higher than for any of the unionist parties). 

Technical note:

• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,028 adults aged 16+ across Scotland.
• Interviews were conducted online between 22-29 May 2026. Most of the fieldwork was completed prior to Peter Murrell, former Chief Executive of the SNP, pleading guilty to embezzlement on 25 May.
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the offline population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.
• Where results do not sum to 100%, this may be due to computer rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of “don’t know” categories.