More Referendum Woes for SNP as Latest Poll Shows Majority Reject Independence

More bad news has come for Scottish National Party (SNP) as the latest poll says a majority oppose independence from the UK.

The Panelbase poll published on Tuesday found support for a ‘Scexit’ running at 46 per cent — just one point higher than the Yes vote in the 2014 independence referendum.

Support for staying in the three-century-old union was only slightly higher at 47 per cent, but that reflected polling before the 2014 plebiscite that split 55.3 to 44.7 per cent against a split.

It was the latest in a series of recent surveys showing support for Scottish independence amid a string of scandals besetting the SNP and the devolved administration headed by its leader Nicola Sturgeon. 

But SNP Westminster Parliament leader Ian Blackford ploughed on, claiming a vote for his party in May's Scottish parliament elections would lead inexorably to independence — which the SNP would then surrender to Brussels by joining the European Union. The party claims to have set aside a £600,000 fighting fund for the various legal battles it faces on that road.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has flatly ruled out ​a repeat of the "once in a generation" referendum, and more recently attacked the SNP for focussing on its "obsession" during the coronavirus pandemic.

Blackford has previously claimed that a second referendum could be held “as early as late 2021”, but Wednesday's poll poured cold water on that. Only 25 per cent backed holding a vote this year, and 30 per cent in the next two to five years. 45 per cent agreed with the statement that “there should not be another Scottish independence referendum in the next few years”.

Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservative opposition in Holyrood, said the SNP's plans would "take a wrecking ball to Scotland’s recovery."

​The SNP is still leading in the polls and looks likely to form the next Scottish government — but may lose its majority and need the support of the Scottish Greens to do so.