‘Landmark’ poll shows 55% Indy support
● ‘55% back Yes with No getting 45%, with don’t knows excluded’
A new poll has put support for independence in Scotland at 55 per cent, an exact reverse of the referendum result in 2014, when undecided voters are excluded.
The poll of 1,011 adults by Panelbase, commissioned by pro-independence business group Business for Scotland, suggested unprecedented levels of support for breaking up the UK.
A new poll has shown Yes winning an independence referendum in Scotland in an exact reversal of the 2014 vote, if undecideds are excluded.
The poll of 1,011 adults by Panelbase, commissioned by pro-independence business group Business for Scotland, showed 55 per cent back breaking up the UK.
Support for No also fell to 45 per cent, with this poll the fifth in a row showing a clear lead for Yes.
The appointment of Douglas Ross as the leader of the Scottish Conservatives and visits from Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Prime Minister Boris Johnson have not impacted growing support for independence, the poll has found.
When undecideds are taken into account, support for independence has a nine point lead over No, with 51 per cent saying they would vote yes versus 42 per cent for no, with 7 per cent undecided.
Gordon Macintyre-kemp, chief executive of Business for Scotland, said the poll was a “huge landmark”.
He said: “The reversal of the 2014 result is a huge landmark – 55 per cent Yes will send shockwaves throughout the political world. There is no conclusion to draw from this new set of data other than the writing is very definitely on the wall for the Union.
“Our June poll found independence support at 54 per cent. That poll changed the dynamic of the constitutional conversation and led to claims of panic in the Westminster Cabinet, with a series of highprofile Tory visits to Scotland. We also saw the effective firing of the Conservative leader in Scotland and the Westminster Government doubling down on its undemocratic threat to deny a referendum after an SNP majority.
“However, none of that frenetic activity seems to have helped the Union. If anything, it has made things worse.
“This poll is important when you consider that the Yes campaign started at 27 per cent and grew to 45 per cent support over the period of the campaign ... independence is now significantly the majority decision of the people of Scotland and its momentum looks solid.”
Polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, wrote in his blog:
“Today, though, sees the publication of a new poll from a different pollster – Yougov for The Times.
“It more or less confirms everything that Panelbase have been telling us.
“Support for independence in today’s poll is (after leaving aside don’t knows) put at 53 per cent – in line with the average for the last four Panelbase readings and an all-time record high for any Yougov poll.”
Green co-leader Patrick Harvie said: “It’s clear that the people of Scotland are ready to reject the incompetent and arrogant UK Government and take the opportunity of independence to build a fairer, healthier Scotland.”