Same-sex marriage: Half of Scots say referendum should be held on gay marriage, finds poll

HALF of Scots believe there should be a referendum on whether to legalise same-sex marriage, a poll has found.The survey, carried out by ComRes for the Scotland for Marriage group, showed 50 per cent of people in Scotland want a nationwide vote.

• Half of Scots surveyed say a nationwide referendum should be carried out on same-sex marriage proposals

• Nearly 40 per cent say Scottish Parliement should decide on gay marriage legislation

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

• Survey also found that 55 per cent of respondents believe marriage should continue to be defined as “life-long exclusive commitment between man and woman”

However, 39 per cent said the Scottish Parliament should decide.

The survey also found that 55 per cent agreed that “marriage should continue to be defined as a life-long exclusive commitment between a man and a woman” while 38 per cent disagreed and 7 per cent did not know.

The Scottish Government is expected to publish the results of its consultation on the issue next week. Currently, the law in Scotland allows civil partnerships between couples of the same sex.

Proposals to legalise gay marriage resulted in the biggest response to any Government consultation and ignited a debate between gay rights supporters and the Catholic Church.

A Scotland for Marriage spokesman said: “When an honest poll is taken, most people in Scotland say they want to keep marriage as it is.

“Half of Scots say gay marriage should be decided by the people in a referendum, only a minority want to leave it to the politicians at Holyrood.

“We are confident that most respondents oppose the plans and we hope the Scottish Government will not ride roughshod over their wishes.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Meanwhile, the group has lodged a complaint with polling industry watchdog the Market Research Society (MRS) over a YouGov poll for Stonewall Scotland.

The survey found that two-thirds of people supported legalising same-sex marriage but Scotland for Marriage said it believes the poll broke the rules set out by the MRS in its guidelines.