Scottish Labour Pushes Social Media

Scottish Labour is to launch a major social media campaign to attract voters after a poll suggested a surge in SNP support could see the party lose a number of key Scottish MPs.

Leader Jim Murphy said Lord Ashcroft's poll was a real jolt'' for Scottish Labour members and laid bare instark terms'' what might happen if it were repeated in May's general election.

The research by the Tory peer showed the Nationalists could be on course to win in 15 of the 16 constituencies surveyed and predicted that Labour campaign co-ordinator Douglas Alexander could be among the casualties.

Mr Murphy said the party has received a surge in small donations since the poll, which it is using towards a social media campaign which aims to reach 500,000 people.

He said: The Ashcroft poll was really very bad for the Scottish Labour Party, there's no getting away from that. It laid bare in pretty stark terms what might happen in May if this poll is repeated on election day.

Of course we will continue to make the argument that if Scotland votes SNP then we risk returning the Tories to Downing Street and inviting a Tory government not just upon ourselves in Scotland but inflicting it upon the whole of the UK.''

He said the party will launch a massive fightback'' to win people back to the Labour Party.

The Holyrood recess has been cancelled for the shadow cabinet who will be out campaigning instead.

Mr Murphy said: We will launch a massive fightback.

We will be out this weekend and every day convincing people that we are under new management and have a different approach and the policies on the National Health Service and youth unemployment in particular.

We will also up our ground game. This weekend we will knock on between 45,000 and 50,000 doors and we will also launch the biggest social media campaign in the Scottish Labour Party's history.''

The research, which focused mainly on Labour seats in areas which had a Yes or close to Yes vote in the independence referendum, found only one of the 16 - Glasgow North East - was likely to return a Labour MP in May.

Lord Ashcroft said an SNP swing of 21%, as found in his research, repeated across Scotland on May 7 would endanger 35 of Labour's 41 seats in the country.

Mr Murphy said the party will this month start to campaign at the level of intensity it would expect to do in May.

He said: It is a maximum effort, full energy to turn this round.

The poll is a real jolt to the membership and jolts any sense of complacency away from them. If there was any, it's gone.

Party members know that the Scottish Labour Party is in the fight of its life and that if the poll is repeated that there's a maximum chance that Labour loses this election to the Tories.''