Poll: Sir Keir Starmer more unpopular than Nigel Farage in Scotland

Sir Keir Starmer’s approval ratings have plummeted in Scotland, according to a new poll, while voters are ditching Labour in favour of other parties.

A poll by Ipsos, in partnership with STV News, found 64 per cent of Scots are dissatisfied with the Prime Minister’s performance, making him more unpopular than Nigel Farage.

It comes as Sir Keir, who has been battling an internal party revolt over welfare reforms, marks one year in Downing Street this week.

Keir Starmer | PA

Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,066 adults aged 16 or over in Scotland between June 12 and 18. It found Sir Keir’s approval ratings had “fallen markedly” compared with a year ago.

While 22 per cent of the Scottish public are satisfied with the way he is doing his job, 64 per cent are dissatisfied, giving a ‘net’ satisfaction rating of -42.

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Even among those who supported Labour at the 2024 general election, almost half (49 per cent) say they are dissatisfied with the job he is doing as Prime Minister.

While Mr Farage is also unpopular among the Scottish public, his approval ratings are not quite as low as Sir Keir’s, with 24 per cent saying they are satisfied with his performance and 54 per cent saying they are dissatisfied, a ‘net’ satisfaction rating of -30.

Nigel Farage has emerged as the UK's leading 'nationalist druid' (Picture: Carl Court) | Getty Images

Elsewhere, the poll found the SNP was in “pole position” when it comes to Holyrood voting intentions, with the party attracting 34 per cent of the constituency vote. However, this would still be substantially below the 47.7 per cent secured by the party in 2021.

Labour are in second place on 23 per cent, ahead of Reform UK on 14 per cent and the Scottish Tories on 10 per cent.

The poll also puts the SNP out in front in Scotland on 31 per cent of the vote if an immediate general election was held. Just 22 per cent say they would vote for Labour, 13 points lower than the party achieved last July.

Ipsos said half of those who supported Labour at the general election now intend to switch to other parties or are undecided as to which party to vote for. Reform UK is the biggest beneficiary of this, followed by the SNP.

On independence, 52 per cent say they would vote Yes and 48 per cent No.

Emily Gray, managing director of Ipsos in Scotland, said: “These new results show how dramatically Scotland’s political landscape has shifted compared with a year ago.

“Labour’s support in Scotland has declined considerably since the general election, and on this evidence Reform UK and the SNP are both benefiting from voters switching allegiance from Labour. A key question for Labour is whether it will be able to win voter support back ahead of next May’s Holyrood elections.

“While the SNP will be pleased that the results show them leading on both Holyrood and Westminster voting intentions, there are also warning signs for the party.

“Their vote share still lags behind what the party achieved at the last Holyrood elections in 2021, and John Swinney’s approval ratings are lower than they were a year ago.

“Meanwhile, Reform UK have made significant strides in Scotland to become the third largest party in both Westminster and Holyrood voting intentions.

“While neither Nigel Farage nor Keir Starmer are popular amongst the Scottish public at present, Starmer’s ratings have now fallen behind Farage’s, far from the situation the Prime Minister would want as he marks his first anniversary in Downing Street this week.”