John Swinney has managed to “stem the bleeding” of support from the SNP, according to a new poll.

Pollster Savanta said this was ”a likely consequence of him simply not being Humza Yousaf.”

While there was some positive news for the SNP in the survey, carried out for the Scotsman, it suggested Labour were still on course for a very good result at the General Election.

Sir Keir Starmer’s party is on 37%, putting them “within touching distance” of 30 seats.

The SNP is on 33%, the Tories are on 17% and the Lib Dems on 7%.

According to an analysis by Professor Sir John Curtice, that would see Labour win 28 Scottish MPs, up from their current two.

The SNP would plummet to just 18 seats, while the Liberal Democrats would take five and the Tories six.

The poll comes as the campaign for the July 4 vote intensifies, with Labour set to announce their offer to voters in Scotland later today. 

Meanwhile, Mr Swinney will be setting out the SNP's demands for an emergency budget from the next UK Government. 

READ MORE: General Election: Scotland wide poll predicts disaster for SNP

On Holyrood voting intention, the SNP was on 35%, ahead of Labour on 34%. They were at 30% in the list vote, up four points since last month, while Labour were on 29%, down three.

The poll was carried out between 24-28 May 2024 and is the first by Savanta since Mr Swinney replaced Mr Yousaf.

Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta said: “Our first poll since John Swinney was confirmed as Scotland’s First Minister suggests that he has managed to stem the SNP’s bleeding.

“In a sense this is positive news for the SNP, but is also a likely consequence of him simply not being Humza Yousaf.”

He added: “There’s plenty of campaign yet to go, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the bigger picture – Labour held one Scottish MP after the last general election, and our poll suggests they could be within touching distance of 30.

"Starmer’s focus on Scotland looks like it may well be paying off, even if this stalemate holds until election day."

Writing in the Scotsman, Sir John, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, said Mr Swinney replacing Mr Yousaf as SNP leader had “helped to steady the nationalist ship”, but warned the party “still faces significant headwinds”.

He said: “Not only has SNP support held steady on that at the beginning of May when the party was reeling from the fallout from the ending of the Bute House Agreement, but both John Swinney's personal rating and the image of his party have improved somewhat.

“Among those who voted SNP in 2019, Mr Swinney's net favourability rating has edged up from +31 to +37.

"His party is now somewhat more likely to be thought to have strong leadership and to keep its promises, and its perceived ability to understand the issues facing ordinary people and Scotland as a whole have improved somewhat.”

READ MORE: Starmer to unveil 'doorstep offer' to Scottish voters

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “We know from our conversations on the doors that voters are fed up with the broken status quo after 17 years of the SNP and 14 years of the Tories.

“Scottish Labour is gaining support, but we are taking nothing for granted and will continue to work hard to gain the trust and support of Scots.

"This general election is an opportunity for change that we cannot afford to miss. By voting Labour, Scots can make sure to boot out this rotten Tory government and put Scottish MPs at the heart of Westminster.”

SNP depute leader Keith Brown said: "We need to get rid of the Tory government. The way to do that in Scotland is to vote SNP because we are the main challengers in every Tory held seat.

"Scottish voters can also see that the closer Sir Keir Starmer gets to Downing Street, the further away he moves from Scotland's values.

"Austerity, Brexit and the cost of living crisis – all imposed on Scotland by Westminster – have pushed up household costs, hit the economy hard and cut the money available to spend on the NHS. At this election, vote SNP to put the interests of Scotland first."