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.
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.