Poll finds pro-indy support dropped to 50%

Support for Scottish independence has dropped to 50% for the first time since June last year, a new poll has found.

A Survation survey of 1,000 Scots found that support for separation has fallen, losing a lead built in the past nine months that bolstered the confidence of supporters heading into May’s Holyrood elections.

According to the poll, when undecided voters are removed, support evens out at 50% for both sides.

When undecided voters are included, however, the Yes supporting side loses its lead by 44% to 43%, with 13% people saying they do not yet know how they would vote.

The Sunday Mail poll will bring hope for supporters of the Union, who have watched as support for independence has grown since their referendum win with 55% of the vote in 2014.

Pamela Nash, the chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: “It’s welcome that support for remaining in the UK is on the rise.

“People are recognising that as we navigate out of the Covid crisis with a successful UK-wide vaccination programme, we are stronger together.

“The SNP is obsessed with trying to divide Scotland, but the priority should be working together on a recovery for everyone in the country.”

But SNP depute leader Keith Brown has said polls are tightening as May’s Holyrood elections near.

He said: “The people of Scotland have shown, in poll after poll and election after election, that they place their trust in Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP to lead Scotland through the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.”