LABOUR has haemorrhaged further support in Scotland, according to a poll out yesterday. A survey of more than 1,000 people over 16 found, among those who voted Labour in May’s General Election, 15 per cent said they would not support the party in the constituency vote for the Scottish Parliament elections – with eight per cent moving to the SNP, six per cent the Tories and the remaining one per cent split among the others.

With regards to the regional vote, 26 per cent of Labour voters said they would switch, with 12 per cent moving to the SNP, six per cent the Greens, five per cent the Tories and three per cent the Liberal Democrats.

The result is a further blow to Labour, which had hoped debates in the UK and Scottish leadership contest would win back some support following its crushing defeat.

Pollsters for TNS BMRB questioned 1,056 people across Scotland between June 16 and July 8, and found that 60 per cent of those who gave a preference said they would be supporting the SNP in the constituency ballot in next year’s Holyrood election.

Some 51 per cent said they would back the SNP in the regional vote. Support for Labour was 20 per cent in the constituency vote and 21 per cent in the regional ballot.

Scotland Votes was yesterday predicting the figures would transfer to 75 seats for the SNP (up six on the current number), while Labour would get 27, the Tories 15, the Green seven, and the Liberal Democrats five.

However, Tom Costley, head of TNS Scotland, said backing for Labour may change after the party elects new Scottish and UK leaders to replace Jim Murphy and Ed Miliband respectively.

Costley added: “As would have been expected, political opinion in Scotland appears to be quite stable, with the SNP in a commanding lead.

‘‘Our survey also suggests the SNP vote may be holding together more strongly than Labour.

“However, given that Labour is still in the process of choosing new UK and Scottish leaders, the picture may change later in the year when the leaders of all the parties set out their stalls at their autumn conferences.”

He added: “It is worth noting the SNP lead among younger voters is especially strong – 73 per cent of those aged 16 to 34 who express a party preference say they intend to vote SNP, against 12 per cent backing Labour.

“After our last poll, Kezia Dugdale, one of the contenders for the leadership of Scottish Labour, warned her party that its relative weakness among younger voters meant that ‘we may not be at the bottom of where the Labour Party could get to in Scottish public life. There might be another storm coming’.”

The Conservatives came third in terms of support, polling 14 per cent in terms of the constituency vote and 13 per cent in the regional ballot. Meanwhile, five per cent of people backed the Liberal Democrats in both the constituency and regional votes, while the Scottish Greens polled seven per cent in the regional section of ballot.

Two-thirds of those surveyed said they were certain to vote in next May’s Holyrood elections, compared to the 50 per cent who voted in the last Scottish election in 2011.

Almost all of those (97 per cent) who backed the SNP in this year’s General Election said they would be voting for Nicola Sturgeon’s party in the constituency ballot in the Holyrood election, while 85 per cent of those who voted Labour in May plan on doing so next year.

SNP business convener Derek Mackay MSP said: “This is another very encouraging poll for the SNP, showing extraordinary levels of support for the party after more than eight years in government – and is a vote of confidence in the start the SNP MPs have made in standing up for Scotland’s interests at Westminster.

“But we take absolutely nothing for granted, and will work hard every day between now and next year’s Holyrood election to retain the trust of people right across Scotland.”

Jeremy Corbyn comes under fire as his stock rises

