Support for Scottish independence collapses in wake of Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation as new poll shows TEN-point lead for ‘No’ – while only a quarter of voters say Kate Forbes would be best choice as new First Minister
- Support for Scottish independence 10 points behind support for remaining in UK
- Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll puts ‘Yes’ on 45 per cent and ‘No’ on 55 per cent
Support for independence among Scottish voters is now ten percentage points behind support for remaining in the UK, a new opinion poll has shown.
According to the Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey, 45 per cent of Scottish voters would vote ‘Yes’ to independence at a referendum compared to 55 per cent who would vote ‘No’.
The poll was conducted in the wake of Nicola Sturgeon’s bombshell resignation as SNP leader and First Minister, which has upended Scottish politics.
It represents a turnaround from Redfield & Wilton’s previous survey in late November, which had shown ‘Yes’ on 52 per cent support and ‘No’ on 48 per cent support.
This month’s survey appeared to show little enthusiasm among Scottish voters for any of Ms Sturgeon’s possible successors.
According to the Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey, 45 per cent of Scottish voters would vote ‘Yes’ to independence at a referendum compared to 55 per cent who would vote ‘No’.
This month’s survey appeared to show little enthusiasm among Scottish voters for any of Nicola Sturgeon’s possible successors as SNP leader and first minister
The SNP were still the best-supported party in Scotland when voters were asked who they would vote for at a UK general election
Only a quarter (25 per cent) of respondents said Kate Forbes, the current Scottish Finance Secretary, would be the best first minister for Scotland, compared to 18 per cent who backed current Health Secretary Humza Yousaf.
Ash Regan, the third candidate in the SNP leadership race, was supported by 14 per cent of voters.
But more than two-fifths (44 per cent) said they did not know which of the SNP leadership hopefuls would make the best first minister.
The ten-point lead for ‘No’ over ‘Yes’ on the question of Scottish independence was reduced to nine percentage points when those responding ‘don’t know’ in the latest poll were included.
This put ‘No’ on 51 per cent support, compared to ‘Yes’ on 42 per cent support, with 8 per cent saying they did not know how they would vote in a referendum.
But despite the apparent drop in support for Scottish independence over the past few months, the SNP were still the best-supported party in Scotland when voters were asked who they would vote for at a UK general election.
The SNP (39 per cent) were shown to hold a ten-point lead over Labour (29 per cent), with the Tories in third (22 per cent).
Ms Sturgeon last month announced her resignation as SNP leader and First Minister amid infighting over her party’s independence strategy and a row over gender identity reforms.
The Redfield & Wilton poll found she is set to leave office with a net approval rating of +2 per cent, with 42 per cent approving of Ms Sturgeon’s overall job performance since she became SNP leader and 40 per cent disapproving.
Her current net approval rating is 14 points lower than her previous approval rating of +16% in November last year.
Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross was found to hold a net approval rating of -23 per cent, down two points from November, while Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar suffered a seven-point drop in his approval rating to now stand at +4 per cent.
Redfield & Wilton surveyed 1,050 eligible Scottish voters between 2 and 5 March.
Source: Read Full Article
