Brexit tops list of issues worrying Scots

Pro-Brexit demonstrators hold Union Jack flags as they protest outside the Houses of Parliament. Picture: Jack Taylor/Getty Images

More than half of Scots think Brexit is the biggest issue facing Britain, a major survey has found.

Research by Ipsos MORI found 51 per cent of Scots (compared with 46 per cent for Britain as a whole) see EU withdrawal as the most important political matter, ahead of the NHS, immigration and education.

Brexit may not be constitutional game changer for SNP

Across Britain as a whole, it was those in the 45-54 age range who were most concerned about Brexit, with 52 per cent mentioning it.

While Brexit received the most mentions from Scots, other issues of concern included the NHS (mentioned by 45 per cent of respondents); immigration (22 per cent) and education / schools (21 per cent).

Crime / law and order was mentioned by only 12 per cent of those polled and the economy by 16 per cent.

Emily Gray, Managing Director of Ipsos MORI Scotland, said: “It’s no surprise that Brexit comes top of Scots’ concerns, given recent debates about how Scotland should be governed if it remains in a United Kingdom that has left the EU.

“And while immigration is slightly less of a concern for Scots than it is for the British public overall, that may well change in 2018, given the first minister’s recent call for a distinctive immigration policy for Scotland and to ‘change the narrative’ about immigration and free movement in the context of Brexit.”

Ipsos MORI polled 12,000 people for the research.