John Swinney has been left humiliated after shock new polling revealed that the majority of Scots think public services have got WORSE under SNP control. And Scots are also more negative about issues such as education and the NHS than those living elsewhere in the UK.
In a further blow for the Nationalist Government, the polling confirmed that those living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are more content that those north of the border. Almost three in four Scots (74%) think that public services in their local area have got worse in the last five years. In Wales the figure is 72%, Northern Ireland at 66% and 62% in England.
And unfortunately for the First Minister, the blame for the poor state of public services is being laid at the door of the SNP Executive, and not Westminster.. A total of 62% of those surveyed say it is due to Holyrood, with over half blaming the Tories, and a similar amount pointing at local councils.
When broken down, half of Scots (51%) say they are dissatisfied with the quality of health services provided by local GPs and hospitals, identical to England. For education, there is an even split, with 30% happy with the state of schools and 28% dissatisfied. But those north of the border are more likely to say they are unhappy, with plummeting standards and the OECD finding a long-term decline in performance in reading, maths and science in Scotland’s secondary schools, all behind England.
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In terms of public transport, Scotland again tops the table for being the most unhappy, with those in the Highlands and Islands and Aberdeenshire, rural areas, the most dissatisfied. And despite the crime rate being lower north of the border than England, half of those surveyed (51%) say they are not happy with the quality of policing to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in their local area, similar to the unhappiness in England.
When it comes to the availability of jobs, dissatisfaction is higher in the devolved nations than it is England. Housing is another issue that Scotland is an outlier in, with over six in ten upset with the amount of properties available to buy or rent in their local area. Despite the Scottish Government declaring a national housing emergency, they have done nothing to help with this.
Ipsos Scotland Managing Director Emily Gray highlighted that public services will be a huge issue that parties will need to grapple with ahead of the Holyrood Election. She said: "Prior to the 2024 UK General Election, the NHS was the number one issue that Scots saw as very important in helping them decide which party to vote for.
"And in the run-up to the last Scottish Parliament elections in 2021, education and the NHS were the second and third-ranked issues that Scots expected would shape their vote, behind only Scottish independence/devolution. With the constitutional question having slipped lower down the Scottish public’s agenda in recent years, public services may well be an even more prominent concern for voters at the May 2026 Holyrood elections than they were in 2021.
"A look at the public’s expectations for the future trajectory of public services suggests that voters recognise the scale of the challenges ahead. Hopes for improvements in the short term are not high, with just one in five of the Scottish public (21%) saying it is likely that public services will improve within the next two to three years – although there is slightly more optimism (37%) that services will improve within the next 10 years.
"The old adage that all politics is local is one that First Minister John Swinney and his party would do well to heed ahead of next year’s Holyrood elections. At present the public are much more likely to view the Scottish Government’s record on key services such as the NHS and education critically than they are to view it favourably.
"Whether the Scottish Government is able to demonstrate tangible progress on the services that matter to voters in Scotland before next May may well make a difference to the Scottish National Party’s fortunes at the ballot box."
Scottish Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for finance and local government Craig Hoy said: “This polling can only be seen as a damning verdict on the SNP’s record on delivery. On almost all the devolved areas the Nats are responsible for, from the NHS to schools and public transport to housing, people feel they’re being badly let down.
“Scots are paying the highest taxes in the UK, to get less and less in public services. The Scottish Conservatives are the only party challenging the cosy left-wing consensus at Holyrood, and pushing for an end to wasteful spending and lower taxes for hard-pressed Scottish households.”
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