People have simply lost faith in the rubbish political class - Susan Dalgety
Politics is a funny old game. As Labour’s popularity plummets after only 15 months in charge at Westminster, the SNP looks set to be the biggest party the next Holyrood elections.
A new poll puts the SNP 17 points ahead of Labour, with Reform in third place. This despite the same poll showing that the majority of Scots think that the SNP government, after 18 years in power, is performing poorly.
Voters say the SNP are failing on health, the economy, housing. The only area where they get any credit is the train network, which was nationalised in 2022.
John Swinney’s advisers will no doubt be pleased that they are managing to stay ahead of the pack with only eight months to go until the election, but they can hardly see the polls as a vote of confidence – and definitely not for their main ambition of leaving the UK.
The Survation poll shows that 56 per cent of voters support parties which are in favour of the union – though with unpredictable and unprincipled Nigel Farage in charge, Reform could always change its mind.
The poll is yet another one to reveal a shift in public opinion that should worry all political parties. Yes, people are scunnered. They are fed up with cost of living. Worried that their kids will not get their foot on the housing ladder. And immigration is becoming more of a concern to Scots, with growing protests against asylum hotels. It has become a ‘top five’ issue for voters for the first time.
But the biggest problem facing our election system is trust. People have simply lost faith with the political class. People no longer vote for positive reasons. Every vote is a protest. Keir Starmer won last July because he wasn’t a Conservative.
The SNP will likely be the biggest party and back in government next year, despite their poor record, not because John Swinney is popular, but because the opposition vote is split across several parties.
Pundits come up with a range of reasons for this loss of trust, from an increase in identity politics to the pandemic, but perhaps the reason is much simpler. Could it be it’s because our politicians are just rubbish?