By a Newsnet reporter
A newly released survey has revealed that the SNP are ahead of the Labour party in Westminster voting intentions.
The poll, carried out on behalf Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft, gives Alex Salmond’s party a six point lead over Labour for a UK general election.
In the 2010 general election the Labour lead was 22%, however the new poll places the SNP on 39% and Labour on 33%. The survey of 703 Scottish voters was carried out between the 17th and 28th of October and represents a 14% swing to the SNP.
The change represents a whopping increase of 19% for the SNP, almost double their 2010 result and a drop of 9% for Labour, down from 42% in 2010. The poll also shows a worrying decline in support for the Lib Dems who are down 13% to just 6%, with the Tories stagnating on 16% and others up 4.5% to 7%.
Welcoming the poll, Angus Robertson MP, Leader of the SNP Westminster Group, said:
“This is a fantastic poll showing the SNP is miles of the other UK parties in terms of voting intentions for the UK parliament.
“This poll shows people in Scotland trust the SNP and have serious doubts about the anti-independence parties. Their constant negativity against the SNP is doing them no favours.
“The more people look at the kind of country they want Scotland to be the more they realise that the status quo is holding Scotland back.
“They want a better future and it is the SNP offering that option with our commitment to free prescriptions, the implementation of a living wage, retaining police officer numbers at the highest ever levels, free higher education, enhancing childcare provision to be the best in the UK, and delivering record low waiting times.
“These poll results pile more pressure on the anti-independence coalition to spell out what their vision is for Scotland’s constitutional future – the people of Scotland deserve to know whattheir alternative amounts to.”