A majority of Scots back Nicola Sturgeon and her handling of the coronavirus crisis but have been less convinced by Boris Johnson during the pandemic, a new poll has found.
A survey out today suggested most people in Scotland thought UK ministers had handled the Covid-19 emergency "fairly" or "very" badly.
But a whopping 82% of respondents agreed Nicola Sturgeon had handled the crisis well overall - with only 8% saying she had done badly.
The poll, carried out for BBC Scotland, also found that a majority of Scots believed the UK had entered lockdown "too late" on March 23 - and 77% said that easing restrictions "too quickly" would be "a bigger risk for Scotland" than easing them too slowly.
The survey of more than 1,000 adults was carried out before it was reported Dominic Cummings - Johnson's most senior political advisor - had travelled 260 miles to Durham at the height of lockdown last month.
Sir John Curtice, the country's leading polling expert, told the broadcaster: "The difference in how well the UK and Scottish Governments are thought to have handled the coronavirus crisis is remarkable.
"After all, they have both faced very similar criticisms, including too little PPE, too little testing and too little care and attention to the needs of care homes.
"In part, the explanation lies in long standing differences in attitudes towards the two governments. Ever since the advent of devolution, voters in Scotland have been inclined to evaluate the Scottish government more highly than its counterpart in London, whatever the issue at stake.
"The Scottish Government benefits from a halo effect whereby credit for what is done well in Scotland is attributed to Holyrood and blame for poor performance is laid at the door of Westminster.
"Meanwhile, many voters will be viewing the two governments through a partisan lens. And it also looks as though the Scottish government is closer to the public mood as to how the lockdown should now be handled."
Emily Gray of pollsters Ipsos Mori - who carried out the survey - said it was "striking" how many Scots thought Nicola Sturgeon was handling the crisis well.
"Our poll shows the Scottish public are really nervous about moving out of lockdown, and the Scottish Government, in taking a more cautious approach, has perhaps been more in tune with the public mood," she said.
"Four in five of us are saying that - it's not just SNP supporters."
She continued: "What we've seen is a real drop among the UK public in how well Boris Johnson is communicating about this crisis. When we went into lockdown back in March, 90% of people across the UK thought he was communicating well about it - that's really fallen.
"With the current crisis around Dominic Cummings you would expect that to be falling further."
SNP depute leader Keith Brown said: "This poll shows the overwhelming majority of people in Scotland support the First Minister’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis, and the Scottish Government's clear and consistent 'stay at home' message.
“People across the UK have lost confidence in how Boris Johnson has communicated during the pandemic - and with his top advisor having broken lockdown rules and undermined the public health message, people will be understandably concerned about his ability to lead the country out of this crisis.
"During this global pandemic it is vital that governments provide strong and clear public health messages that are easy to understand and implement. The message in Scotland couldn't be clearer - stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives."
