Poll boost for Labour

Poll boost for Labour

The poll surveyed 2,000 people

Labour has recorded its biggest opinion poll lead since the Holyrood campaign began as latest figures showed it 13 points ahead of the Scottish National Party (SNP).

The NFO System Three poll for The Herald suggested the party could gain an additional seat in the Scottish Parliament if the performance is reflected in the 1 May election.

The monthly poll suggested Labour's standing has increased since a survey for the Times newspaper earlier in the week which confounded analysts in showing Labour with a 12-point lead on the constituency vote.

The NFO System Three poll showed Labour on 39% for the first vote, an eight-point gain on last month's figure.

CONSTITUENCY VOTES

Labour - 39%

SNP - 26%

Tories - 13%

Lib Dems - 12%

The SNP, which was level with Labour a month ago, dropped five points to 26% on the first vote.

On the list vote, the nationalists' three-point lead last month appeared to have turned into a three-point deficit.

The poll suggested that Labour has gained four points to record 30% support, with the SNP on 27%, two points down from last month.

Translated into seats, System Three predicted that Labour would win 56 seats in the parliament, the same number as in 1999.

However, Labour lost a seat to the Tories when John Scott was elected in the Ayr by-election.

The SNP would have 34 MSPs, one fewer than last time.

The Liberal Democrats would gain two seats, increasing to 19 MSPs, but the big losers were forecast to be the Tories, whose total of 12 would be seven fewer than four years ago.

LIST VOTES

Labour - 30%

SNP - 27%

Lib Dems - 14%

Tories - 11%

The Greens and Scottish Socialists, who each won a single seat in 1999, were forecast to return four and three MSPs respectively.

The Conservatives edged into third place on the first vote with 13% support, an increase of 2%, as the Liberal Democrats dropped from 16% to 12%.

The Lib Dems also lost ground on the second vote, dropping from 18% to 14%, while the Tories' share increased from 9% to 11%.

For the minor parties, the SSP polled 4% support on the first vote and 6% of the second votes, while the Greens recorded 3% and 7% respectively.

Other parties, including the Scottish People's Alliance, attracted 2% of first-vote support and 4% of second votes.

NFO System Three polled 2,123 adults between 11 and 15 April in all 73 Scottish parliamentary constituencies.