Scottish Government receives UK-wide backing over handling of coronavirus, new poll shows

A poll of more than 12,000 people across the UK has revealed strong support for the Scottish Government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

The survey, carried out by JPIMedia titles in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland over the weekend, asked readers a series of questions about the lockdown, and how leaders have responded.

It found that 26 per cent think First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her government have handled the crisis "very well" with 45 per cent responding "somewhat well". 12 per cent of respondents answered "not very well" while eight per cent said "not at all well".

Just 12 per cent of readers felt Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government had handled the pandemic "very well", with a further 31 per cent saying "somewhat well".

35 per cent of respondents believe Downing Street has handled the crisis "not at all well" with an additional 21 per cent responding "not very well".

These responses give the Scottish Government a UK-wide net approval rating of +51, compared to the UK Government's -13.

In Scotland, the Scottish Government's approval rating was slightly lower at +48.

The proportion of readers who believe the UK Government hasn't handled the crisis well increased day-by-day over the weekend, from 51 per cet on Friday to 63 per cent on Monday. During this time the story about the Prime Minister's adviser Dominic Cummings taking a trip to Durham was revealed and has dominated the news agenda since.

Crisis messaging

In recent weeks the messaging around the crisis has diverged across the UK.

The Scottish Government's "Stay at Home" message was judged to be "very clear" by 80 per cent of respondents, compared to 62 per cent who said the UK Goverment's "Stay alert, control the virus, save lives" slogan was "not very clear" or "not at all clear".

Social distancing rules

The survey asked readers how closely they think people are sticking to social distancing rules in their area.

Overall, just 12 per cent answered “very closely”, compared to 43 per cent for “somewhat closely”, 28 per cent for “not very closely” and 17 per cent for “not at all closely”.

When asked how comfortable they felt about doing certain things for the first time since lockdown began on 23 March, visiting family topped the polling with 69 per cent saying they would feel comfortable doing so.

By comparison, 60 per cent would be comfortable meeting up with a small group of friends, 37 per cent comfortable returning to their place of work, while only 18 per cent would be comfortable using public transport.

As for public health measures put in place to control spread of the virus, 66 per cent said readily available testing would make them feel more confident going to public places, compared to 40 per cent for a track and trace app, and 37 per cent for mandatory wearing of face coverings.