Latest polling from Survation puts support for independence at 50 per cent
- New poll indicates support for independence is holding steady, following last week’s YouGov findings showing 51 per cent behind Yes
- SNP depute leader Keith Brown argues poll shows “without doubt that the momentum is behind independence
THE LATEST polling from Survation among voting-age Scots shows the question of independence split 50-50, with the SNP holding a 28 per cent lead over the closest opposition party in voting intentions in the 2021 Holyrood election.
Welcomed by SNP depute leader Keith Brown as “another fantastic poll for the Yes movement,” the new findings follow last week’s polling result from last week, which indicated that 51 per cent of Scots backed independence ahead of the UK leaving the European Union.
Setting out her proposed next steps to secure a second independence referendum last week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon argued that Brexit would boost support for independence, despite the refusal of the UK Government to allow another vote on the constitutional question. YouGov also concluded that ““Remainers are increasingly moving towards Yes.”
Commenting on the new Survation poll, Keith Brown said: “This is another fantastic poll for the Yes movement – showing without doubt that the momentum is behind independence.
“Scotland has been dragged out of the EU against our will by a Tory government and Prime Minister that we didn’t vote for – and who are undemocratically trying to block the people of Scotland having their say in a referendum.
READ MORE: Scottish Parliament votes for right to hold referendum on Scottish independence in 2020
“But that position is unsustainable – ultimately the people of Scotland will have the chance to escape Boris Johnson’s Brexit Britain and choose a better future as an independent European nation.
“The case for independence grows stronger by the day. The longer Boris Johnson tries to ignore the SNP’s democratic mandate the more support for independence will continue to grow.”
The SNP’s significant lead in Holyrood voting intentions was also made clear by the poll, with the SNP at 52 per cent of the constituency vote, compared to the Scottish Conservatives’ 23 per cent, Scottish Labour’s 17 per cent, and the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ 7 per cent.
Regional voting intentions were less divided, but nevertheless show 38 per cent support for the SNP, 21 per cent for the Conservatives, 19 per cent for Labour, 9 per cent for both the Scottish Greens and the Lib Dems, and 3 per cent for ‘Another Party’.
Last week, ahead of the Scottish Parliament’s vote in favour of seeking the right to hold a second independence referendum, another Survation poll revealed that a majority of Scots believe the power to hold such a plebiscite should be held in Holyrood, rather than Westminster.
In a survey of 1,019 respondents conducted by Survation and the pro-independence think tank Progress Scotland, 61 per cent of those who gave an opinion argued that the decision over a future vote should be within the power of the Scottish Parliament.
Picture courtesy of Lawrence OP