Half of Scots would vote SNP for independence at next general election – poll

Half of Scots would vote SNP at the next general election if a victory for the party could lead to Scottish independence, according to a new poll.

The snap poll of 1,006 Scottish voters was carried out by Find Out Now for Channel 4 News on Wednesday after the UK Supreme Court ruled another independence referendum cannot be held without the backing of Westminster.

Of those asked, 412 of whom voted SNP in the last general election, 50% said they would vote SNP at the next general election if a victory for them could lead to Scotland leaving the UK.

A third (33%) said they would not, while the remainder said they do not know or prefer not to say.

Meanwhile, just over half (51%) said they would vote SNP at the next general election if their vote would be used as a mandate to negotiate independence with the UK Government, while a third said they would not.

Asked what was most important to them, just over a quarter (26%) said Scottish independence, while 61% said the Scottish economy and public services, while 13% said they do not know or prefer not to say.

Judges at the UK’s highest court announced their unanimous ruling on Wednesday, making clear the Scottish Parliament “does not have the power to legislate for a referendum on Scottish independence”.

Following the judgment, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon vowed to continuing pushing for independence, saying: “As long as there is breath in my body, I refuse to give up on the basic principle of democracy.”

She said a special SNP conference will be held in the new year “to discuss and agree the detail of a proposed de facto referendum”, using the next UK election.