Will the last person to vote Scottish Labour please turn off the lights?
Kevin Schofield, Emilio Casalicchio, Agnes Chambre and John Ashmore
| PoliticsHome
Another day, another horrific poll for Scottish Labour.
The Survation findings, published in the Daily Record, confirm that the SNP are on course for another thumping majority at Holyrood. This much we knew. What’s interesting is that it adds to the weight of evidence suggesting the Tories will replace Labour as the official opposition.
Both parties are virtually neck-and-neck, but the vagaries of the Scottish Parliament’s voting system (which is confusing enough to give an aspirin a headache) mean the Conservatives are tipped to win one more seat. Were that to happen, it could well be the final nail in Scottish Labour’s coffin.
There remains a faint pulse, but the post-mortem has already started. Kezia Dugdale’s decision to try to outflank the Nationalists on the left by vowing to hike taxes on the rich looks like it will only succeed in confirming that Scots don’t like handing over money to the Government any more than the English, Welsh and Northern Irish. The SNP – for all their socialist rhetoric – know this, which is why they haven’t followed suit.
Critics also point out that promises to scrap Trident and ban fracking may appeal to middle-class lefties, but are hardly vote-winners among the thousands whose jobs are at stake.
Incredibly, some candidates in Labour heartlands say some of their traditional voters are switching to the Tories because they know they can at least be relied upon to stand up for the Union.
Turning round last year’s general election disaster – when Labour lost all but one of its 41 Scottish seats – was never going to be straightforward. But some signs of progress were expected. Instead, it looks like the party is about to come third in a two-horse race.
To coin a phrase, will the last person to vote Scottish Labour please turn off the lights?
PoliticsHome Newsletters
Get the inside track on what MPs and Peers are talking about. Sign up to The House's morning email for the latest insight and reaction from Parliamentarians, policy-makers and organisations.
