System 3 Opinion Polls


saltire shield'I got fed up with all the sex and sleaze and backhanders of rock 'n' roll so I went into politics.'
Tony Blair on why he left pop group Ugly Rumours.
Lion Rampant

System 3 polls April 1992 - May 1997

System Three is the longest-established political opinion poll in Scotland, having first been commissioned by The Herald (Glasgow) in 1974, and therefore provides a unique insight into party support over the past 25 years.

I have compiled the data presented below from the polls published each month in the Herald and from that newspaper's library. I am indebted to Ian Watson, Information Services Manager of the Herald's library for providing me with this information.

NB The month designations which I have used refer to the date of publication of the poll (generally early in the month), rather than when the data were collected (often late the previous month). System 3 apparently conducts no poll in December and two in January. Therefore the 'December' polls are in reality the first of the two January polls.

Data extracted from The Herald System 3 polls

Data in tabular format

Party Labour Scottish National Party Conservative Liberal Democrat Green
Date Labour logo SNP logo Conservative logo Liberal logo Green logo
April 1992 41 % 24 % 21 % 13 % 1 %
1992 General Election April 1992 39.04 % 21.45 % 25.77 % 12.90 % 0.3 %
May 1992 36 % 25 % 27 % 12 % 1 %
June 1992 39 % 23 % 26 % 10 % 2 %
July 1992 44 % 22 % 24 % 8 % 1 %
August 1992 44 % 22 % 25 % 8 % 1 %
September 1992 46 % 20 % 23 % 10 % 1 %
October 1992 42 % 27 % 20 % 10 % 1 %
November 1992 47 % 23 % 20 % 9 % 1 %
December 1992 48 % 22 % 18 % 10 % 1 %
January 1993 44 % 23 % 23 % 8 % 1 %
February 1993 43 % 26 % 18 % 11 % 1 %
March 1993 49 % 22 % 17 % 11 % 1 %
April 1993 47 % 21 % 21 % 9 % 1 %
May 1993 44 % 22 % 16 % 17 % 1 %
June 1993 45 % 23 % 16 % 16 % 1 %
July 1993 46 % 25 % 16 % 12 % 1 %
August 1993 45 % 24 % 17 % 13 % 1 %
September 1993 45 % 24 % 15 % 16 % 1 %
October 1993 43 % 24 % 17 % 15 % 1 %
November 1993 48 % 25 % 14 % 12 % 1 %
December 1993 47 % 23 % 15 % 14 % 1 %
January 1994 47 % 23 % 15 % 14 % 1 %
February 1994 47 % 22 % 16 % 14 % 1 %
March 1994 47 % 25 % 13 % 14 % 1 %
April 1994 46 % 26 % 13 % 14 % 1 %
May 1994 44 % 27 % 14 % 14 % 1 %
June 1994 53 % 24 % 10 % 12 % 1 %
July 1994 46 % 30 % 12 % 11 % 1 %
August 1994 51 % 27 % 12 % 9 % 1 %
September 1994 55 % 24 % 12 % 8 % - %
October 1994 51 % 29 % 11 % 9 % 3 %
November 1994 47 % 27 % 13 % 10 % - %
December 1994 55 % 25 % 12 % 8 % 1 %
January 1995 57 % 22 % 11 % 9 % 1 %
February 1995 54 % 23 % 12 % 10 % - %
March 1995 52 % 25 % 11 % 10 % 1 %
April 1995 53 % 25 % 11 % 9 % 1 %
May 1995 52 % 22 % 13 % 12 % 1 %
June 1995 53 % 27 % 11 % 9 % 1 %
July 1995 57 % 23 % 11 % 8 % - %
August 1995 54 % 22 % 12 % 11 % 1 %
September 1995 52 % 26 % 12 % 8 % 1 %
October 1995 46 % 30 % 13 % 11 % 1 %
November 1995 52 % 23 % 13 % 10 % 1 %
December 1995 57 % 21 % 13 % 8 % 1 %
January 1996 53 % 23 % 11 % 11 % 1 %
February 1996 52 % 23 % 12 % 10 % 1 %
March 1996 53 % 23 % 12 % 9 % - %
April 1996 54 % 23 % 13 % 10 % 1 %
May 1996 53 % 23 % 13 % 9 % 1 %
June 1996 54 % 24 % 12 % 8 % - %
July 1996 51 % 25 % 15 % 9 % 1 %
August 1996 51 % 23 % 15 % 10 % 1 %
September 1996 48 % 29 % 15 % 7 % 1 %
October 1996 49 % 24 % 13 % 12 % 1 %
November 1996 55 % 23 % 11 % 8 % 1 %
December 1996 53 % 24 % 12 % 10 % 1 %
Party Labour Scottish National Party Conservative Liberal Democrat Other
Date Labour logo SNP logo Conservative logo Liberal logo
January 1997 50 % 22 % 16 % 10 % - %
February 1997 52 % 25 % 15 % 8 % 1 %
4 th March 1997 46 % 26 % 16 % 10 % 1 %
26 th March 1997 52 % 20 % 17 % 9 % - %
2 nd April 1997 53 % 26 % 12 % 9 % - %
9 th April 1997 51 % 23 % 14 % 10 % - %
16 th April 1997 52 % 24 % 13 % 9 % - %
23 rd April 1997 47 % 24 % 15 % 12 % - %
30 th April 1997 50 % 26 % 14 % 9 % - %
General Election
1 st May 1997
45.6 % 21.9 % 17.5 % 13.0 % 1.9 %

Monthly polls in graphical format

Weekly election polls in graphical format


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