Scotland’s political leaders ranked by how disliked they are according to poll

John Swinney is Scotland’s least disliked political leader, a poll has found.

The Scottish Political Pulse also found that Reform UK Scotland’s leader was the most disliked among the public.

The Ipsos poll showed most Scots expect the SNP to win the Holyrood election in May, either as the largest party or as a minority.

However, 51% currently think Scotland is going in the wrong direction while nearly half of the country believes the Scottish Government is doing a bad job on every metric polled.

The First Minister remains the best-rated leader in Scotland, although everyone polled was rated negatively.

Some 30% of respondents said they viewed Mr Swinney positively, with 42% viewing him unfavourably, giving him a net score of minus 12.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar was rated minus 26, with 20% for and 46% against, while Reform UK Scotland leader Lord Malcolm Offord was at the bottom with a net approval rating of minus 37, with 14% viewing him favourably and a majority (51%) unfavourably.

Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay had a net rating of minus 35, Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Alex Cole-Hamilton was on minus 17, while Scottish Greens co-leaders Gillian Mackay and Ross Greer were at minus 19 and minus 20 respectively.

According to the Scottish Political Pulse, Mr Swinney has a clear lead with the public over Mr Sarwar and Lord Offord on most key leadership traits.

Mr Swinney is seen as the party leader who most understands the problems facing Scotland (44%), is a capable leader (38%), in touch with ordinary people (36%) and honest (36%).

However, the public is less convinced that he has the right plans for Scotland, with more saying he does not have the right plans (40%) than that he does (33%), while 25% are not sure.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s ratings have fallen in the wake of war in the Middle East, with 74% of Scots now viewing him unfavourably and 12% viewing him favourably – a net rating of minus 62.

Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, was the most disliked domestic leader with a net approval rating of minus 42. And Sir Keir Starmer’s approval rating stands at minus 40.

The SNP is the highest-rated party, according to Ipsos, with a net rating of minus 7. Those with a favourable view of the SNP say this is because the party is most likely to provide Scotland with the stability it needs (45%), has the best policies for Scotland (42%) and because the party’s values are more aligned with their own than those of other parties (41%).

Scottish Labour has a net approval rating of minus 28, while Reform was at minus 38. The net approval rating for the Tories stood at minus 40, the Greens minus 15 and the Lib Dems minus 18.

Despite being the most positively rated of the parties, the public’s view of the SNP’s performance in government is broadly negative.

Nearly three in 10 Scots (28%) say the Scottish Government has done a good job of improving living standards for people on low incomes.

However, 45% think that the Government has done a bad job of this. Meanwhile, over a quarter (26%) say the Scottish Government has done a good job of managing Scotland’s economy, up six points since September and almost half (48%) think the Government has done a bad job.

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the Scottish public agreed that Scotland needs a fresh team of leaders, with just 31% agreeing that the current Scottish Government deserved to be re-elected, with 46% disagreeing.

However, most Scots do not currently see a better alternative, with just over two in 10 (22%) agreeing that Scottish Labour is ready to form the next Scottish government (47% disagree).

Even fewer view Reform UK as ready to form the next Scottish government, with 19% agreeing and 58% disagreeing.

Looking ahead to the election, a majority of Scots (55%) expect the results to go in the SNP’s favour, with one in three (33%) predicting a hung parliament with the SNP as the biggest party and 23% predicting the SNP will be able to form a majority government.

Just 15% expect a hung parliament with another party being the biggest, and one in 10 (10%) expect some other result.

Emily Gray, managing director of Ipsos Scotland, said: “Ahead of the Scottish Parliament election campaigns starting next week, our latest Scottish Political Pulse suggests a widespread lack of enthusiasm among the public towards both political leaders and parties.

“That said, the findings are more encouraging for the SNP than for any other party, with John Swinney the highest-rated party leader and slight improvements in the public’s views of their performance in government on living standards and managing the economy.

“Meanwhile, there are warning signs for Reform UK, with falls in both the party’s and UK leader Nigel Farage’s favourability ratings, and their Scottish leader, Malcolm Offord, emerging as the worst rated of the Scottish party leaders.”

Ipsos interviewed 1,027 adults aged 16 and older across Scotland between March 6-16.