The Scottish public want Kate Forbes to be the next First Minister, reveals new Ipsos pollIpsos are out of the blocks at lightning speed with a poll conducted yesterday and today on the SNP leadership race. As expected, Kate Forbes is once again the voters' clear choice as First Minister.
Which SNP politician would make the best First Minister? (Ipsos, 29th-30th April 2024)
Kate Forbes 26%
John Swinney 20%
Stephen Flynn 7%
Angus Robertson 4%
Shona Robison 2%
Mairi McAllan 2%
Humza Yousaf 2%
Jenny Gilruth 1%
Swinney does have the consolation of leading among SNP voters, but remember once you start digging into subsamples like that, the chances of inaccuracy become greater because the margin of error is bigger. However, it does appear that Forbes remains best-placed to broaden the coalition of support for independence by appealing to non-SNP voters.
It's safe to say from the above numbers that a re-run of Yousaf v Forbes would be likely to produce a very different result from last year!
Source: The Scottish public want Kate Forbes to be the next First Minister, reveals new Ipsos poll (//)