Humza Yousaf's popularity drops after hate crime bill, poll suggests
dailyrecord.co.ukHumza Yousaf's popularity has dropped after controversy around the Scottish Government's hate crime laws, a new poll has suggested.A Norstat survey showed that the First Minister had fallen in popularity by 15 points since January to a net approval of -32 with the general public.He is also struggling among SNP supporters, with only 29 per cent of people who voted for the nationalists at the last general election believing he is doing a good job.
Some 36 per cent think he has been poor in office.This net score of -7 is a huge drop from January when he scored +14 among SNP voters.It comes after controversy over the new hate crime law, which came into place on April 1.Polling guru and Strathclyde politics professor John Curtice told the Times the poll shows Yousaf "is deeply and increasingly unpopular".He added: "However, do the SNP have any option other than to make the best they can of Mr Yousaf 's leadership?"SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn and ex-finance minister Kate Forbes - who Yousaf beat in the race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon - have been touted as potential replacements if Yousaf resigns following the general election.The First Minister's drop in approval ratings was larger than his rivals.Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was three points worse than Yousaf on -35, although he had increased his popularity by 10 points.Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross' popularity fell by 10 points to -38.Labour also saw a dip in fortunes.
UK leader Keir Starmer saw his approval rating go down by 13 points to -26.Scottish leader Anas Sarwar dropped by 14 points to -17.Both the SNP and Labour were predicted to win 32 per cent of the Scottish vote at the general election.
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