YouGov Poll

As I learned through Tartan Hero's multi-award winning blog, there is a new You Gov poll out which is as detailed as it is interesting.

I couldn't possibly cover all of the information contained in it and the Scottish section of the results could be somewhat misleading given the poll is related to Westminster but people's thoughts on Holyrood may get added to the mix. However, their voting intentions may well be based on Holyrood actions too so who knows what is and isn't relevant these days.

The most glaring statistic of all is the 4% that the Lib Dems are polling at in Scotland. Difficult to say if this is slap in the face for Nicol Stephen or Menzies Campbell but given that Ming polls at around 17% in England and Wales, you've got to think Nicol will be pretty miffed. Mind you, a separate question resulted in only 12% saying Ming Campbell should stay on as leader with 39% preferring a younger person. Among Lib Dem voters, as many as 54% would prefer to see a young leader (with 24% wanting to keep Ming).

The SNP's issues regarding women voting for them doesn't seem to have improved much. Of the 29% of the Scottish sample who say they would vote SNP, only 20% are female. How long can the SNP be the most popular party in Scotland with such a low level of support from half of the population?


Good news for the SNP comes from the 29% figure itself. The SNP secured 17% of the overall vote in 2005 so clearly this is a massive jump and would surely translate into an increased number of seats. Currently sitting at 6 Westminster seats, the Nationalists may yet be the victims or the beneficiaries from some tactical voting when the election comes around, but I'd be surprised if they didn't increase their tally. When the time comes, I shall of course be pushing for as much SNP tactical voting as possible ;-)



There's a surprisingly high level (52%) of overall dissatisfaction with the Government's record with only 27% approving. Despite the recent council elections, there are still a large number of voters who seem quite happy to give Labour a bit of a kicking.


However, on personality, Brown is still wiping the floor with Cameron in almost every region on every question. The esteem for Brown is decidedly more pronounced in Scotland, as expected.


The issues that divide the genders most noticeably are:

"Replace the existing council tax with a local income tax levied at an average rate of 3p or 4p in the pound".
53% of men are in favour with only 38% of women agreeing. (May go some way to explain the problems the SNP have had in appealing to females.)

"Take the authority to ratify treaties away from the Government of the day and give it to Parliament as a whole"
62% of men are in favour with only 43% of women agreeing.



Issues that divide Scotland and the rest of the UK:

"Take cannabis more seriously by raising its classification from Class C to Class B"
Only 51% approval in Scotland with roughly 60% in the rest of the UK.

"Raise to 18 the age at which pupils can leave education or training"
Only 35% of people in Scotland are in favour with about 49% of England/Wales being for. Given the age at which Scots can leave school and still go on to university, as young as 16, a difference in opinion here is expected.

"Detain terrorist suspects without charge for as long as the police need to carry out their enquiries"
66% of Scots in favour compared to around 75-76% in favour for England and Wales. I was very surprised to see those figures so high, but not surprising to see that Scotland is more left-wing on this one.



And finally, one pair of statistics that were highly amusing. Among those intending to vote Conservative, 1% would prefer to see Gordon Brown win the next election. Though I wouldn't get so smug if you're a Labour supporter, apparently 2% of you lot would rather see David Cameron win!