Half of Scots brand SNP incompetent as Swinney faces polling collapse on opening day of Aberdeen conference
John Swinney faces a collapse in his personal approval rating, with 53 per cent of Scots now viewing him unfavourably against just 34 per cent favourably.The SNP's "Choose Scotland" campaign will target nearly 1.5 million Scottish households with an independence survey, backed by a £100,000 budget.
A YouGov poll published on the first day of the SNP's Aberdeen conference found that half of Scots consider the party incompetent, with 53 per cent branding it "out of touch" and only a quarter describing it as trustworthy. John Swinney's personal approval has fallen to 53 per cent unfavourable against just 34 per cent favourable — while Andy Burnham is the ONLY party leader in Scotland with a positive net approval rating. A separate More in Common survey found 62 per cent of Scots believe their lives are getting worse, with the SNP performing poorly on every major issue including cost of living. Burnham is due in Scotland on Friday in a visit timed to overshadow the conference.
The SNP launched its 'Choose Scotland' campaign — billed as the biggest independence push since the 2014 referendum — at the same moment its own polling was cratering.
Veteran nationalist Alex Neil warned of 'utter depression' among members, saying SNP leaders 'clearly don't have a clue' how to advance independence after Swinney fell short of his Holyrood majority target.
Transport secretary Stephen Flynn insisted 'we are winning the argument' — but the conference's opening independence debate was described by one member simply as 'meh'.
