Pollster warns Nigel Farage's new political outfit will split Scotland's unionist vote
First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon addresses the People's Vote March in London. - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
Despite vowing to make the case against Scottish independence, Nigel Farage's new party could make it tougher for Unionist parties in the Holyrood elections, a pollster has warned.
Professor Sir John Curtice has said the new Reform UK party in Scotland will be targeting Tory voters who backed Brexit in Scotland, making it harder for the Conservatives to retain their position as the official opposition.
He told the National: “More leave voters vote Tory than anything else, so the Tories are the ones which will be least happy.
“A third of SNP voters backed Leave, but with Reform UK running with the type of British nationalism that was typical of the Brexit Party and UKIP that doesn’t do well up here.
“But one suspects Tory leave voters are somewhat more vulnerable [to the Reform Party] than SNP leave voters. Meanwhile, of course, it fractures the Unionist vote a bit more.”
Asked about Labour's chances in the elections, he said: “The Labour party position in the polls has improved a bit, the average is now about 17% rather than 16%, but the Tories are running just below what they got in 2016."
You may also want to watch:
Curtice argued that Reform UK would not "make much impact" in the Scottish elections and that the anti-lockdown message was "niche".
“The people who tend to complain most about lockdown are Brexiteers but research so far suggests that is not true of public opinion,” he added.
Most Read
- 1 Leave EU website suspended after EU registry blocks move to Ireland
- 2 Comedian wins praise after shaming No 10 during Dancing on Ice appearance
- 3 Boris Johnson blames seafood companies for post-Brexit sales slump
- 4 Television drama to focus on Boris Johnson's first year in Downing Street
- 5 Progressive alliance could see Labour win 351 seats at next election, new analysis reveals
- 6 The Tory MPs who failed to vote against a Universal Credit cut
- 7 Michael Gove among 14 Tory MPs revealed to have joined banned Parler app
- 8 Priti Patel fails to appear in Commons to answer questions on missing police records
- 9 UK has highest Covid-19 death rate in world
- 10 Boris Johnson claims Labour supporters using Universal Credit vote to incite hatred
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.