SCOTTISH Labour are on course to win up to 25 UK parliamentary seats at the upcoming General Election, according to a poll.
The survey by More In Common showed the Labour Party started the election campaign with a five-point lead over the SNP.
Labour polled at 35% with the SNP at 30%. The Conservatives meanwhile polled at 17%, the Liberal Democrats at 10%, Reform UK at 4% and the Greens at 3%.
More In Common polled a nationally representative sample of 1016 Scottish voters between May 22 and 24.
However, polling also showed that the SNP’s leader John Swinney had the highest approval rating among party leaders at minus two.
Labour’s Keir Starmer was on minus 10, Anas Sarwar on minus 11 and Rishi Sunak on minus 43.
Voters also considered Swinney to be an improvement on his predecessor Humza Yousaf, with 34% saying he was better, 5% believing he was a downgrade, 37% saying he was no better or worse and the rest indicating they were unsure.
Executive director of More in Common UK Luke Tryl said: “The time for change mood has upended the electoral landscape in Scotland, with Labour currently on course to make major gains at the expense of the SNP.
“While there is no doubt that John Swinney (below) is more popular than his predecessor, the SNP’s brand has been severely damaged by perceived legislative failures, scandals surrounding the former first minister Nicola Sturgeon and the collapse of the Yousaf administration.
“What’s happening in Scotland will have reverberations across the UK, if Labour does make these levels of gains in seats north of the Border it makes the path to a majority in Westminster substantially easier.”
The survey also found Scottish voters are more likely than the UK overall to say it is time for a change in leadership.
While 70% said it was time for a change across the UK, the number was nine points higher in Scotland.
