Skint, fed up and utterly scunnered, voters in Scotland are turning their backs on the established parties in droves. Fresh polling from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reveals that rising living costs have shattered trust in politics, with two in five economically insecure Scots now politically disaffected. Among the hardest hit, that figure jumps to more than half.
The fallout could redraw the political map ahead of the 2026 Holyrood election.
Economic Pain Turns into Political Rage
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation surveyed more than 4,000 adults across Britain, with detailed Scottish data published this week. The results paint a grim picture north of the border.
Two in five Scots who are economically insecure feel let down by politics and politicians. For those classed as “very economically insecure”, support for the political system collapses entirely, with 53% saying they feel abandoned.
Chris Birt, JRF Scotland associate director, said the findings should “set alarm bells ringing in Holyrood and Westminster”. He warned that people struggling to heat homes and feed families are losing faith in democracy itself.
Voters Swing to Reform UK and the Greens
The most striking shift is where these disillusioned voters are going.
Among economically insecure Scots who have switched parties since 2021, the biggest winners are Reform UK and the Scottish Greens. Both parties are picking up support from people who feel ignored by the SNP, Labour and the Tories.
Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, is attracting working-class voters furious about immigration and net zero costs. The Scottish Greens are pulling in younger and progressive voters angry about child poverty and climate inaction.
One voter from Glasgow told researchers: “I’m done with the lot of them. They promise the world and deliver nothing but higher bills.”
Poverty Levels Remain Stubbornly High
Scotland’s poverty statistics make for grim reading.
Latest Scottish Government figures show 260,000 children are still living in poverty, despite legal targets to eradicate it by 2030. One in four Scottish children grow up poor.
Fuel poverty affects 31% of households, up sharply since the energy crisis began in 2021. Food bank use has hit record levels, with Trussell Trust distributing more than 300,000 emergency parcels in Scotland last year alone.
The Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland has thrown its weight behind The Herald’s “Skint Scotland” campaign, calling the situation “a national disgrace”.
Director John Dickie said: “Families are making impossible choices between heating and eating. Politicians who ignore that will pay the price at the ballot box.”
What It Means for the 2026 Holyrood Election
The SNP has dominated Scottish politics for nearly two decades, but these findings expose real vulnerability.
Labour, riding high after its UK election landslide, risks being punished in Scotland if living standards do not improve quickly. Keir Starmer’s decision to cut winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners has already sparked fury north of the border.
Meanwhile, Reform UK has opened an office in Glasgow and is fielding candidates across Scotland. Party chairman Zia Yusuf has boasted they could win “several seats” at Holyrood.
The Scottish Greens, despite losing ministerial posts after the Bute House agreement collapsed, are seeing a surge in membership among young voters angry about poverty and the climate crisis.
Pollster Mark Diffley said the combination of economic pain and political disaffection creates “the perfect storm” for the established parties.
He added: “Voters are not just switching parties, they are switching off from politics altogether. That should terrify anyone who believes in democracy.”
Scotland’s cost of living crisis is no longer just an economic story. It has become the defining political story of our time.
Families skipping meals, pensioners sitting in the cold, parents working three jobs yet still falling behind, these are not statistics. They are neighbours, friends and family members who have run out of patience with a system that appears to work for everyone except them.
As the 2026 election approaches, politicians of all stripes ignore that anger at their peril.
What do you think? Are you feeling the squeeze too? Have you lost faith in the main parties? Share your thoughts below, and join the conversation on social media using #SkintScotland.
