Less than a third of people in Scotland support Nicola Sturgeon’s timetable for a second referendum on leaving the UK next year, according to a new opinion poll.
Only 29 per cent said a contest should be held before the end of 2023, while 60 per cent said another vote should not be held.
Even among those who backed the SNP in last year’s Holyrood election, 36 per cent said there should not be a second referendum next year.
And asked what the Scottish Government’s top three priorities should be, only one-in-ten said an independence referendum – far behind the NHS (61 per cent), economy and jobs (48 per cent), Covid-19 recovery (30 per cent), education (26 per cent), and housing (21 per cent).
Survation polled more than 1,000 adults in Scotland in the run-up to last week’s council elections.
Using the question ‘should Scotland remain a part of the United Kingdom or leave the United Kingdom?’, 58 per cent of respondents said they would vote to remain and 42 per cent said they would vote to leave.
More than a quarter (28 per cent) of Yes voters in 2014 said they would now vote to remain part of the UK and they were asked why they had changed their mind – with 72 per cent stating the stability of the UK economy was a reason, while 70 per cent selected Nicola Sturgeon’s performance as First Minister, and 66 per cent said it was the importance of protecting public services.
Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said:
“Whatever Nicola Sturgeon claims following the council election results, it is clear that the people of Scotland do not support her timetable for a divisive second referendum next year.
“Voters want the government to prioritise what really matters to them – not the SNP’s obsession with constitutional division.
“And once again, this poll has confirmed that a significant majority of people in Scotland want to remain part of the UK.
“Scotland’s best days are ahead of us as part of the UK, ensuring we can bring communities together and use the strength of our shared economy to invest more in the NHS, schools and local services.”
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See data tables below: