Nicola Sturgeon is facing calls to quit after a damning new poll revealed the fury from Scottish voters over her handling of the trans rapist scandal and self-ID gender laws. The Panelbase survey for The Sunday Times of 1,415 voters in Scotland carried out in the past week found 42 percent thought the First Minister and SNP leader should resign now. Less than half (45 percent) said she should remain in her role until the next Scottish election in 2026, with the remaining 13 percent of respondents undecided.
Two-thirds (67 percent) of the survey respondents who expressed a view believed women’s safe spaces, such as hospital wards and changing rooms would come under threat from the SNP leader’s controversial plans to allow people to self-identify their legal gender.
But Scottish voters also appeared to show little faith in the SNP Government, with 69 percent saying they did not know who should succeed Ms Sturgeon.
The most popular choice was Finance Secretary Kate Forbes, but even she only received seven percent of the vote in the poll.
Among others mooted to replace the First Minister were her deputy John Swinney (six percent) and Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson (five percent).
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn and Scottish Environment Minister Mairi McAllan both only received three percent.
Fifteen percent of SNP voters at the last general election in 2019 said they wanted Ms Sturgeon to resign, as well as 19 percent who backed Scottish independence in the failed referendum in 2014.
The damning poll will now only add to the increasing pressure on the First Minister and speculation surrounding her future.
The SNP leader has previously said she will use next year’s general election as a “de facto” Scottish independence referendum following the recent from the UK Supreme Court she can’t hold a vote on the matter without the consent of Westminster.
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Last month, Bryson was convicted of two rapes, which were committed when the sex offender was using the name Adam Graham. But Bryson only started to transition after appearing in court on rape charges.
Bryson was sent to Cornton Vale women’s jail in Stirling, despite court chiefs wanting to send the rapist to men-only Barlinnie prison in Glasgow.
At the time, SNP guidance at the time Bryson was imprisoned stated trans criminals should be sent to the prison that matches the self-identified gender that they were living in prior to conviction.
The furious backlash towards Ms Sturgeon over the issue came weeks after the UK Government blocked the First Minister’s Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.
Ministers had raised several concerns that its self-ID model undermined UK-wide protections for women. Ms Sturgeon has warned she will go to court to get the veto overturned.
