Sturgeon says she prefers Labour to Tories but criticises Starmer’s rule

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Nicola Sturgeon has said she would prefer a Labour government in London to the Tories but accused Keir Starmer of failing to offer a truly radical alternative.

The first minister said Labour would clearly do a better job at Westminster than Liz Truss’s Conservatives, even though Starmer had “thrown in the towel” on the EU by refusing to reverse Brexit.

Questioned by Laura Kuenssberg on BBC One as to who she would rather have as prime minister, Sturgeon said: “That’s not a difficult question, if the question to me is would I prefer a Labour government over a Tory government? I detest the Tories and everything they stand for so it’s not difficult to answer that question, so yes.

“But I want to say two things. Firstly, you know, being better than the Tories is not a high bar to cross right now. I think we need to see more of a radical alternative from Labour rather than just a pale imitation.

“And if you’re asking me do I think either a Westminster Tory government or a Westminster Labour government is good enough for Scotland, then my answer to that question is no.”

Sturgeon’s remarks are significant because Labour has become the closest rival to the Scottish National party (SNP) after its support in Scotland surged following the economic and financial chaos unleashed by the UK government’s disastrous mini-budget in late September.

With the SNP holding its annual conference in Aberdeen this weekend, Sturgeon’s colleagues have repeatedly attacked Labour without qualification, claiming they are essentially identical to the Tories.

A series of polls last week put Labour support in Scotland above 30%, replacing the Tories in second place behind the SNP, which remains dominant on about 45%. In many Westminster and Holyrood seats, Labour is the SNP’s closest challenger.

On Saturday, Keith Brown, the SNP’s deputy leader, described Labour as “the handmaidens of more Tory rule” for supporting Brexit, resisting Scottish independence and falsely claiming the UK would uphold basic economic competence.

Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, told delegates Labour was “happy and hungry” to do backroom deals with the Tories, and had adopted the “ridiculous” position of trying to make Brexit work. “And of course, that’s not all,” he added. “As well as pledging their support for Brexit, Labour’s other big pledge is never to work with us in the SNP.”

The contrast between Sturgeon’s qualified support for a Labour government in London and her colleagues’ undiluted attacks illustrates a conundrum for the first minister: while Labour is the SNP’s main opponent in Scotland, at UK level it is far more closely aligned to the SNP on key social and spending policies and is expected to devolve more policymaking and taxation powers to Holyrood.

In her interview with Kuenssberg, Sturgeon defended her plans to use the next general election as a “de facto” or proxy vote on Scottish independence if the UK government refuses to authorise a legally watertight referendum.

This week the UK supreme court will hear the Scottish government’s claims it has the legal power to stage a referendum without Westminster consent. Sturgeon implied she knew the court could find against her government and said an election would be the “last resort” to prove Scottish voters wanted independence. That would require more than 50% support for the SNP and potentially other pro-independence parties: the latest polls suggest she is short of hitting that target.

SNP backbenchers worry those polls raise significant doubts about the wisdom of turning an election into a single-question contest. A Savanta poll for Scotland on Sunday, published shortly before Sturgeon’s BBC interview, found only 32% of voters backed that strategy.