Thumbs up for Nicola Sturgeon as other politicians see negative approval rating

Nicola Sturgeon is the only UK politician to gain a positive approval rating in Scotland in a new poll.

The Lord Ashcroft poll found 53% of Scots scored the First Minister's performance more than 50 out of 100 and 42% below, giving her a +11% net approval rating.

The only other politician the Scottish sample of 906 gave a positive approval rating to was German Chancellor Angela Merkel with +7%.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson was rated below 50 out of 100 by 54% of Scots and above by 33%, securing a net approval rating of -21%.

A total of 58% rated Prime Minister Theresa May's performance under 50 out of 100, giving her a -23% net approval score.

Interviewees were also questioned on Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale, with one in five polled in Scotland rating her performance more than 50 out of 100 while 61% rated her below, giving a net approval rating of -41%.

SNP MSP George Adam said: "This is an encouraging poll that once again shows that people trust the strong leadership of Nicola Sturgeon - while all of the most senior Tories remain deeply unpopular in Scotland.

"Embarrassingly they also find themselves trailing behind a politician that isn't even from the UK.

"People are now seeing the real Ruth Davidson who has completely sold out over our single market membership, despite saying it was her 'overriding priority'.

"It's no surprise that an outright majority of people in Scotland disapprove of born-again Brexiteer Ruth Davidson's job performance - and the news is no better for senior Westminster Tories who are overwhelmingly viewed negatively."