Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has overtaken Scottish Labour to become the main opposition to the SNP at Holyrood, according to a new Survation poll commissioned by the IPPR think tank.
The poll found the SNP on 34% of the constituency vote, with Reform on 22%, Labour on 18%, the Tories on 10% and the Lib Dems on 8%. On the regional list, Reform again came second on 20%, ahead of Labour on 17%.
Polling expert Mark Diffley told the Daily Record: “This is the first poll in Scotland to show Reform UK in second place on both the constituency and regional list votes.
"It consolidates the trend we have seen over the past year, with the party averaging around 20% support and now edging ahead at 22%. They seem to be pushing Labour further back into third place, which is a clear problem for Labour.”
If repeated at the ballot box, the results would give John Swinney’s SNP 55 seats, Reform 22, Labour 19, the Conservatives 12, the Greens 10 and the Lib Dems 11.
While such a result would secure the SNP a fifth term, it would fall short of the outright majority needed to justify a second independence referendum.