Poll finds '˜Brexit more important than keeping UK together'

A protester draped in a European Union flag takes part in a protest outside the Houses of Parliament. Picture: GettyA protester draped in a European Union flag takes part in a protest outside the Houses of Parliament. Picture: Getty
A protester draped in a European Union flag takes part in a protest outside the Houses of Parliament. Picture: Getty
Brexit is more important to voters than keeping the United Kingdom together, according to a poll.

Just over half of people questioned said they would still support leaving the European Union even if they knew it could lead to Scotland becoming independent.

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The poll for the Daily Telegraph found that while 59% of people across the UK were opposed to Scotland leaving the UK, almost the same number said Brexit was more important than the potential break-up of the Union.

That was the stance of 59.9% of people surveyed by ORB. Just over a quarter (26.6%) disagreed with this, while 13.5% said they did not know.

The survey of 2,000 voters was carried out on Wednesday and Thursday after Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced plans to stage a second independence referendum to give voters a choice between leaving the UK and a “hard Tory Brexit”.

Prime Minister Theresa May has dismissed the call, saying now is not the time for a fresh ballot.

Ms Sturgeon says Scots should be allowed to vote on staying in the UK some time between autumn 2018 and spring 2019 - arguing this would allow them to make an “informed choice” when the terms of the Brexit deal are known.

But 58.5% agreed that having a second Scottish independence referendum before Brexit would undermine the UK’s ability to negotiate with the EU, according to the poll.

Meanwhile 50.5% said they would still back Brexit even if they knew it could lead to the end of the United Kingdom, with 37.8% saying they would not support an exit, and 11.7% did not know.

While a majority of people across the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016, almost two-thirds (62%) of Scots backed Remain.

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SNP ministers insist this gives them a “cast-iron mandate” for a second independence referendum, after the party’s manifesto for the 2016 Holyrood elections said another poll could be held if there was a “material change in circumstances” since the 2014 vote, such as Scotland being removed from the EU against its wishes.