Misc

2 Years After Independence Vote, Majority of Scots Believe Scotland Should Remain Part of the UK 

New data from Survation shows that a majority of Scottish adults would vote to remain a part of the UK if the question was put to them in a referendum.  1073 Scottish adults aged 16+ were polled and, of those who said they would vote, 53% would vote “No” if asked tomorrow “Should Scotland be an Independent country?”.

Elsewhere in the poll:

  • Of the eight Scottish electoral regions, six would vote No to independence. Those with a Yes majority were Glasgow and Central Scotland.
  • 15% of people who voted SNP with their 2016 Holyrood constituency vote, indicated that they would vote “No” in an independence referendum.
  • The 16-34 age group and 35-54 age group both had Yes majorities, despite the overall No majority.

 

Commenting on the findings, Chief Executive Damian Lyons-Lowe said

“In the two years since the Scottish Independence Referendum, the SNP has enjoyed resounding success in both Westminster and Holyrood. The main UK political parties all have new leaders, the Conservatives have an overall majority in the Commons and the UK has voted to leave the EU (in contrast to opinion among Scottish voters). Despite these seismic political changes, the stated intention of Scots in favour of Independence however has remained stubbornly unchanged – currently sitting within the margin of error of the 2014 referendum “NO” result.  Given these major political events seem to have had little impact it is unclear what could tip opinion towards independence. SNP control of Holyrood and the further devolution of power from Westminster to the Scottish government delivered in March may well represent a reasonable constitutional compromise for many voters”.

 

Nicola Sturgeon Remains Most Favourable Political Figure With The Scottish Public

The poll also shows that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is the most favourable political figure with the Scottish public. Nicola Sturgeon had a net favourability rating of +12 which compares to negative favourability ratings for all but one of the other figures in the poll. The only other person to have a positive rating was Ruth Davidson at +6.

As well as all the major party leaders in Scotland, Ms Sturgeon had more favourable ratings than some UK wide political figures such as Prime Minister Theresa May (-0.5) and the two candidates for the Labour Party leadership, Jeremy Corbyn (-29) and Owen Smith (-22).

Survation polled 1,073 Scottish adults aged 16+ between 5th-10th September 2016. Full tables are available here and here

To enquire about adding questions to Survation’s UK or Scotland Omnibus please email online@survation.com or call 0203 818 9661.


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