Humza Yousaf doing a bad job as First Minister according to poll

Half of those asked have not been impressed with his first 100 days in charge

Less than a quarter of those polled reckon Humza Yousaf is doing well as First Minister
Author: Lindsay HerronPublished 10th Jul 2023

Half of respondents to a new poll have said they believe First Minister Humza Yousaf is doing a bad job.

A YouGov study, shared exclusively with the PA news agency of 1,100 Scots between June 26 and 29, shows 50% viewed the First Minister as having done a bad job since taking office.

Mr Yousaf marked 100 days in the job on Friday.

Meanwhile, just 23% endorsed his time in office, which has been peppered with internal issues withing the SNP and a number of policy u-turns on the deposit return scheme and highly protected marine areas (HPMAs).

A previous poll conducted in April found 19% of people thought Mr Yousaf was doing well, and 44% believed the opposite, although his tenure was just weeks old when the poll was conducted.

The First Minister boasted a slightly better rating than Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, with 22% of Scots saying he was doing a good job leading the UK Government, compared to 59% who said he was doing a bad job.

On favourability, 28% had a favourable view of the First Minister, while 51% had an unfavourable view.

Those polled were also given six topics and asked to evaluate Mr Yousaf's performance, including on the cost of living, where just 15% believed he had done well, compared to 60% believing the opposite.

On the ongoing investigation into the SNP's finances, 22% of respondents believed Mr Yousaf was doing a good job, compared to 48% who believed otherwise.

Some 17% approved of his stewardship of the economy, while 55% did not.

Elsewhere, 18% believed he had done a good job on healthcare, compared to 56% who did not and 20% believed his administration were handling climate change well, compared to 44% who believed otherwise.

On Scottish independence, 18% believed he had handled the issue well, while 50% did not.

The poll also suggested that support for independence had fallen back since the previous poll in April, with 37% saying they would back separation, down from 39%.

Those who would vote no in a future referendum also increased to 46%, while 6% of respondents said they would not vote, 9% responded that they did not know how they would vote and 2% refused to answer the question.

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