Support for Scottish Lib Dems falls to lowest level
In the aftermath of the European Elections, our latest poll for STV News shows that support for the Scottish Liberal Democrats has fallen to the lowest level Ipsos have recorded.
In the aftermath of the European Elections, our latest poll for STV News shows that support for the Scottish Liberal Democrats has fallen to the lowest level we have recorded. Among those certain to vote in a Scottish Parliament election, just 5% would vote Scottish Liberal Democrat, down 4 points since February. The party is now level with the Scottish Greens on 5% (up 3 points) and a point ahead of UKIP on 4% (up a point).
Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party (SNP) have maintained their nine-point lead over Scottish Labour, with both parties seemingly unaffected by the fallout from the European elections. Among those certain to vote, 39% would vote for the SNP and 30% would vote for Scottish Labour with both parties up a point since February. The Scottish Conservatives are on 14%, down 3 points.
Leader approval ratings
In addition to the party’s low level of support, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has the lowest satisfaction rating of any of the party leaders at Holyrood. Only one in five Scots are satisfied with his performance (20%) while 40% are dissatisfied, giving him a net rating of -20. A further 40% of Scots don’t know enough about Mr Rennie to rate him.
Approval ratings for the First Minister and Deputy First Minister remain high, with 49% satisfied and 44% dissatisfied with Alex Salmond, giving him a net rating of +5, and 51% satisfied and 38% dissatisfied with Nicola Sturgeon, giving her a net satisfaction rating of +13.
Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont’s satisfaction rating fell slightly compared with February, with 38% satisfied (down 2 points) and 39% dissatisfied (up 5 points), giving her a net satisfaction rating of -1.
Scottish Green Party leader Patrick Harvie also retains a strong satisfaction rating, with 35% satisfied and 20% dissatisfied (down a point) to give him a net satisfaction rating of +15. However, 45% of Scots didn’t know enough about Mr Harvie to rate his performance.
Around one in three Scots are satisfied with Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson’s performance (32%), with 37% dissatisfied, giving her a net satisfaction rating of -5.
Finally, the Prime Minister’s satisfaction ratings in Scotland remain low as 30% of Scots are satisfied with David Cameron and 66% are dissatisfied, giving him a net rating of -36.
Christopher McLean, Research Manager at Ipsos Scotland said:
“Our latest poll shows that support for the Liberal Democrats has now fallen to the lowest levels we have recorded in Scotland. It remains to be seen whether the current level of support represents a backlash from the European Elections or a long-term decline in support since entering the Coalition. Regardless, it is clear that the party will need to gain support significantly to maintain their representation at Holyrood.”
Technical details:
- This presents the topline results from Scotland
- Results are based on a survey of 1,003 respondents (adults aged 16+) conducted by telephone (Scottish Parliament voting intention is only asked to those aged 18+)
- Fieldwork dates: 26th May 2014 – 1st June 2014
- Data are weighted by: age, sex and working status using census data; tenure using Scottish Household Survey data; and public-private sector employment using Scottish Government Quarterly Public Sector Employment series data
- Where results do not sum to 100%, this may be due to computer rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of “don’t know” categories
- Results are based on all respondents (1,003) unless otherwise stated
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