Poll delivers crushing blow to the Yes campaign

its results are out-of-date. But the director of the anti-independence campaign Better Together, Blair McDougall, said: ‘It is increasingly clear that Alex Salmond is putting his obsession with independence ahead of the interests of the Scottish people.

‘Instead of focusing on the things that people care about, likes jobs and the economy, the Nationalists spend all their time campaigning for independence.

‘Alex Salmond is more interested in securing his own place in history than securing a better future for Scotland.

‘This attitudes survey shows strong support for the UK, but there is no complacency. There is still a very long way to go so we need everybody who supports Scotland staying in the UK to do their bit.’

Scottish Labour’s deputy leader Anas Sarwar added: ‘The SNP has put Scotland on pause while they focus on breaking up Britain. Scots know that this is a distraction from what really matters to them. At a time when families are struggling to make ends meet, more Scots than ever are under-employed and underpaid, with growing pressures on our NHS.

‘The SNP is failing to govern for Scotland. It’s time for Alex Salmond to stop putting the referendum first and Scotland second.’

The study involved telephone and online interviews with 10,007 adults in Scotland between February and May this year. Most polls only involve around 1,000 respondents.

Support for the Union is strongest among Tory voters, at 92 per cent, with 7 per cent of Labour backers and 20 per cent of SNP supporters opposed to independence.

Lord Ashcroft also commissioned a more up-to-date study of 1,013 adults in August about the Scottish Government’s priorities.

Unprompted, 49 per cent of Scots interviewed by phone said ‘independence’ was Mr Salmond’s key priority, and only 7 per cent said his main focus was the economy. When asked what should be at the top of the Government’s agenda, only 7 per cent of SNP supporters chose separation.

Lord Ashcroft said: ‘Asked what they thought was at the top of the administration’s agenda, half spontaneously named the independence campaign – seven times as many as mentioned the economy and jobs.

‘Only just over a third said they thought the current priority was right; asked what the Scottish Government should focus on instead, the economy topped the list comfortably.

‘Many in our focus groups worried that the prolonged, repetitive debate over independence damaged the economy by creating uncertainty and deterring, or at least postponing, much-needed investment.’

Another poll by Lord Ashcroft, involving 1,000 online interviews in June, also published today, found that 40 per cent of Scots would vote SNP in a Holyrood election. Labour was backed by 35 per cent of voters, with the Tories on 15 per cent, the Lib Dems on 5 per cent and UKIP on 4 per cent. That would leave the SNP as the largest party at Holyrood, but 11 seats short of a majority.

Nationalist MSP Sandra White said: ‘The only way for the Scottish parliament to achieve the job-creating powers Scotland needs is with a Yes vote next September.’

A spokesman for Yes Scotland said: ‘In polling terms this survey is wildly out of date. Sampling was taken between February and May, and much has changed since then.

‘We know from our own research that the more people learn about independence the more likely they are to vote Yes because they realise that having a government they vote for in Scotland is the best way to build a fairer, more prosperous country. So over the next 12 months we will be doubling our efforts to provide the quality information people need to help them make the right choice.’