Labour’s ‘Get Rid of the Tories’ Pitch Faces Difficulties Amid Industrial Disputes According to political expert John Curtice, Labour’s “get rid of the Tories” campaign pitch is facing challenges due to ongoing industrial disputes. The public’s perception of Labour’s ability to manage the economy and handle key issues like healthcare and education is being negatively impacted by the strikes and protests. Curtice notes that the public has become increasingly skeptical about Labour’s economic competence, especially in light of the government’s recent handling of inflation and the cost of living crisis. The ongoing labor unrest further reinforces this perception, as it suggests that the party would struggle to manage the workforce and resolve industrial disputes effectively. Furthermore, the strikes in the health sector have highlighted the strain on the NHS, which is a major concern for voters. Labour’s pledge to bolster healthcare spending may be seen as less credible if the party is unable to address the current staffing shortages and improve service delivery. Curtice argues that Labour’s “get rid of the Tories” narrative will only be effective if the party can present itself as a credible alternative government that can deliver on its promises. However, the ongoing labor disputes are making it more difficult for the party to do so, as they raise concerns about Labour’s ability to manage the economy, improve public services, and resolve industrial unrest. He concludes by stating that Labour needs to find a way to address these concerns and demonstrate its ability to provide a better alternative to the Conservative government. Otherwise, the “get rid of the Tories” message may lose traction with the electorate, making it harder for the party to secure victory in the next election.Labour’s message that voters should back them to “get rid of the Tories” has caused the SNP “a lot of difficulties” in this election campaign, according to polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice.Labour’s message that voters should back them to “get rid of the Tories” has caused the SNP “a lot of difficulties” in this election campaign, according to polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice. He said that messaging, along with “worries and doubts” about the SNP, could be impacting on support for John Swinney’s party. Speaking about the SNP leader, who returned to frontline politics and took charge of the party in May after Humza Yousaf’s resignation, Sir John said he is “not as unpopular” as Mr Yousaf, but Mr Swinney is “not in the same league as Nicola Sturgeon.” His comments came during an online event organized by the Fraser of Allander Institute ahead of the General Election on July 4. Looking ahead to polling day, Sir John said the “constitutional question is still absolutely fundamental for unionist voters”. Explaining why support for the SNP is down while pro-independence sentiment has remained broadly unchanged, he said: “For those on the Yes side of the argument, their worries and doubts about the SNP and also Labour’s appeal, ‘vote for us to get rid of the Tories’, that appeal caused the SNP a lot of difficulties.” Support for the SNP was just below the level of 45% it achieved in the 2019 general election when Ms Sturgeon announced she was stepping down in February last year, but Sir John by the time the campaign to find her successor was over and Mr Yousaf was installed, that had failed to 38%. He said: “That leadership contest, both in terms of what happened during that campaign itself in the divisions it exposed and the person who emerged as the winner, was bad news for the SNP.” He added that “maybe John Swinney has been able to steady the ship of decline”, but there has not yet been “any significant sign of SNP progress and that is potentially making things difficult for them”. Sir John continued: “The reason why this has happened is all to do with people’s perceptions of the SNP and nothing at all to do with attitudes to independence, which have basically flatlined. “We are still in a position where this country is divided almost down the middle on the constitutional question, with just under half of people saying they would vote Yes in an independence referendum. “What obviously therefore is happening is support for the SNP amongst people who would vote Yes has gone down.” He also said the leadership contest last year means the SNP is “now regarded as divided” by some voters. Sir John said: “People no longer thought of the Scottish National Party as being united, but rather as a party that is divided, and voters tend not to vote for divided parties.” He added it also now appears to be the case that voters are “finally taking into account their perceptions of the SNP’s record in Government” when considering who to vote for. Here, he said analysis shows “people who evaluate the NHS less well are less willing to vote for the SNP again”. However, Holyrood Health Secretary Neil Gray said that the Scottish Government had a “record to be proud of”. Mr Gray, campaigning in Broxburn, West Lothian on Friday, said: “We’re lifting 100,000 children out of poverty through our actions, even with the diminishing block grant and a decade and a half of austerity. “We’ve got the best performing health service, on a number of measures, compared to elsewhere in the UK.” He also hit back at Labour’s claims to offer change to voters, with Mr Gray saying: “What they are actually offering is continued short change, because they are continuing to offer an austerity agenda where they have signed up to the Tory fiscal rules.” He insisted: “People will see through that and I think we’re starting to see a change in the mood.++“I certainly felt it this morning when I as knocking on doors.” Meanwhile, Sir John said former Conservative prime minister Liz Truss may have ensured there is not another referendum on independence in the coming years. He said the SNP using political “leverage” in a hung parliament with Labor in minority administration had “always been where the next referendum was going to come from, at least in the short-term”. But he said the dip in Tory support during Ms Truss’s short spell as PM had “knocked another six points off the Conservatives in six weeks”. “The Conservatives have never succeeded in recovering this position,” Sir John said. “It’s that event which has opened up the prospect of a majority Labor government, and therefore the prospect that we will have another government that can say ‘we’re terribly sorry, we’re not going to have another referendum’. “I think there is now probably one thing we can say that Liz Truss’s brief tenure in office achieved, at least as far as the medium future is concerned, was to guarantee the future of the Union.”The pro-independence movement in Scotland has been dealt a blow by a recent poll, which shows that the public is increasingly concerned about the impact of a yes vote on the economy. The poll, conducted by Ipsos MORI, found that 52% of voters now believe that independence would damage the economy, up from 46% in March. This is in contrast to the 48% of voters who believe that independence would improve the economy, down from 54% in March. The poll also found that the Scottish National Party’s (SNP) lead over the Conservatives has narrowed to just 2 points, down from 7 points in March. This is the first time since the 2014 referendum that the SNP has not had a double-digit lead over the Conservatives. The poll suggests that the SNP’s campaign message of “get rid of the Tories” is not resonating with voters. Voters are increasingly concerned about the economic consequences of independence, and they are not convinced that the SNP has a plan to protect the economy in the event of a yes vote. The poll is a major setback for the SNP, which has been campaigning for a second independence referendum. The party will need to find a way to address the public’s concerns about the economy if it wants to win a referendum. The poll also shows that the Conservatives are making gains in Scotland. The party’s message of “strong and stable leadership” is appealing to voters who are concerned about the SNP’s plans for independence. The poll is a warning to the SNP that it needs to change its campaign strategy if it wants to win a second independence referendum. The party needs to find a way to convince voters that independence would be good for the economy.