Two new polls show public back Scottish independence

Two new polls have found a majority of Scots in favour of independence.

Yo u G o v ' s l a t e s t r e s e a r c h puts support for Scotland leaving the UK at 51 per cent, with 49 per cent wanting the country to remain in the union.

A separate study by Panelbase for the Scot Goes Pop proindependence website found when those who did not know were excluded, 56 per cent of Scots back independence and 44 per cent are opposed.

The poll, which was conducted online, questioned 1,020 people between November 5 and 11.

Yougov's figures were also based on fieldwork carried out in early November and represent a decrease in the lead for Yes since its previous research in August, which put Yes at 53 per cent and No at 47 per cent.

Both sets of Yougov figures d i s c o u n t p e o p l e wh o we r e undecided and those who said they would not vote.

As the latest numbers were released on Thursday, YouGov said "all these figures are within the margin of error of a dead heat".

S e v e r a l o p i n i o n p o l l s i n recent months have recorded a lead for the pro -independence vote.

Yo u G ov ' s s a mp l e o f 1 ,0 8 9 adults in S cotland were also asked about voting intention for next year's Scottish Parliament elections.

It put the SNP on 56 per cent for the constituency vote and 47 per cent for the regional list.

The Scottish Conser vatives stood at 19 per cent and 20 per cent respectively, while Scottish Labour were on 15 per cent and 13 per cent.

In an online post accompanying the figures, Yougov's Adam Mcdonnell said: "If next May's Scottish elections reflect these figures, the SNP would be on course for a comfortable majority, increasing its number of seats at Holyrood."

S N P d e p u t e l e a d e r Ke i t h B r ow n s a i d : "T h e s e a r e ye t m o r e s i g n i f i c a n t p o l l s f o r the SNP, which show voters across S cotland continue to place their trust in the par t y to deliver.

"They should be a wake up call for the Tories - their Trumplike attempts to ignore free and fair elect ions and deny the people of S cotland the right to choose their own future is utterly unsustainable. If the UK remains a democracy, then Scotland must have the right to choose a better path than the shambolic, hard-brexit Tor y Government."