Scottish Labour have dumped their “change” slogan after a troubled first six months for Keir Starmer’s UK Government. The word has been dumped as the party’s primary message, with one senior party source saying it is associated with the Prime Minister.
The slogan was used endlessly by Starmer and Scots Labour leader Anas Sarwar in the general election as a way of hammering the Tories. But since Labour’s victory on July 4th their poll rating has tanked after a series of unpopular decisions by the new Government.
They scrapped Winter Fuel Payments for millions of older people, raised national insurance contributions for business and refused to pay compensation for WASPI women.
Scottish Labour have ditched “change” for “new direction”, a decision one party source said reflected the different dynamic of a Holyrood election. He said Scottish politics is in a “different phase” and voters do not dislike the SNP in the same way they “hated” the Tories.
The insider said: “Voters feel failed by the SNP, but the emotional connection is different compared to how they felt about the Conservatives.”
He said Scottish Labour had also wound down talk of “17 years of SNP failure” in a bid to connect with key voters, explaining: “That is not how many voters feel. They feel failed by the SNP over the last five years.”
However, a second source said Sarwar believed the “change” message was linked to the Labour Government. The change message was prominent in Sarwar’s speeches last year, but the party’s social media is dominated by the “new direction” slogan now.
Sarwar was favourite to become First Minister in 2026 after the general election triumph, buta recent Norstat poll for the Sunday Times showed the SNP is on course for victory.
The poll also shows Scottish Labour falling to their lowest seats tally in the history of devolution. The snapshot shows John Swinney’s SNP on 37% of the constituency vote for Holyrood and 32% on the regional lists – both up from August.
Labour’s poll rating in first-past-the-post for the 2026 election stands at 21% and they have slumped to 18% on the lists.
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