Conservatives On Track to Gain Eight Seats in Scotland

The Conservative Party is on track to win as many as eight Scottish seats in the general election as the party opens up a ten-point lead over its Labour rivals north of the border.

A poll of 1,001 Scottish adults taken by Survation for the Sunday Post following the Prime Minister’s announcement of a snap election revealed that 28 per cent are planning to vote for the Scottish Conservatives, nearly doubling their 15 per cent support at the last election, while just 18 per cent back Scottish Labour.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) has leaked support since their historic 2015 election result which saw the party secure half of all votes cast, but remains firmly ahead of its rivals on 43 per cent.

The 2015 result delivered the SNP all but three of Scotland’s Westminster seats while the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Labour took one apiece.

If the poll proves accurate, the Conservatives will take a further seven seats from the Scottish Nationals, taking their tally to eight, while the Liberal Democrats would gain a further two seats, totalling three. Labour, meanwhile, would hold their one seat north of the border.

The pollsters also quizzed Scots on whether Scotland should be in independent nation, finding that 53 per cent would vote No in a referendum, against 47 per cent who are in favour when the undecides were excluded.

However, should the Conservatives win the general election in June, 38 per cent of Scots said they would be more likely to back independence, including 41 percent of those who are currently undecided. 40 per cent said such a result wouldn’t change their vote either way, but just 16 per cent said they would be less likely to vote for an independent Scotland.

A Scottish Labour spokesman told the Sunday Post: “This poll makes clear that people in Scotland stand by the decision they made in 2014 when they voted to remain in the UK. It’s time for Nicola Sturgeon to respect that decision.

“If you vote Labour you will elect a local champion. If you vote SNP you will elect an MP only interested in a second independence referendum. The Tories simply cannot beat the SNP in seats across Scotland – only Labour can.”