The Scottish National Party (SNP) is facing an election crisis as support for the party has collapsed ahead of the upcoming general election. Recent polls show the SNP could lose nearly half the seats it won in 2019, falling from 48 seats to just 25.
According to a report by Express, The decline comes amid a series of scandals and controversies for the party. Last April, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon resigned and her husband was arrested as part of a police investigation into SNP finances. Her successor, Humza Yousaf, has struggled to regain voters’ trust.
Polls suggest Scottish voters are flocking to Labour, which is set to reclaim many of the seats it lost to the SNP in 2015. One survey put Labour on 30% support in Scotland, just 8 points behind the SNP. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out doing any deals with the SNP after the election.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Scots are crying out for change not just from the Tories but from the SNP. From a culture of secrecy and cover-up to life-threatening failures in our NHS, Humza Yousaf’s party is failing working people.”
Despite the dire polls, Yousaf has set a bold target to oust all six Conservative MPs in Scotland. At the SNP conference in October, he told activists: “I am setting an ambition for the SNP to wipe the Tories from Scotland’s electoral map by winning every seat held by Boris Johnson’s party north of the border.”
Yousaf admitted it was a “big ask” but said the SNP would have a clear message: “Vote SNP for a Tory-free Scotland.” The Tories derided his speech as “desperate rhetoric.”
In January, Yousaf reached out to Starmer about cooperating in the next Parliament. But Labour rebuffed his offer, saying Scots wanted change from both the Tories and SNP.
Tory MP Brendan Clarke-Smith said it showed Labour was already planning to “sell out Scotland” to the SNP. Labour accused the Tories of “spreading nonsense” and said there would be “no deals, no coalitions, no alliances” with the SNP.
The SNP has also faced criticism for failing to meet its environmental targets. The party had pledged to reduce car mileage by 20% by 2030 but is not on track to achieve this.
Scottish Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur said: “Like so many key climate pledges, this is yet another target that the SNP government are failing to meet.”
Despite the chaos in the SNP last year, polls show voters have not abandoned the party entirely. One survey put SNP support at 40%, just a one point drop from 2021. Independence support remains around 47%.
So while Yousaf is likely to lose seats to Labour at the next election, the hit may not be as catastrophic as some are predicting. But with the SNP conference undersubscribed and key figures like Mhairi Black at risk, the election is looking stormy for the party.
