Scottish independence: ‘No’ in 30-point poll lead

BACKING for a No vote in next year’s referendum is growing as the campaign against independence opened up its largest lead of the year, an opinion poll showed.

The Yes Scotland camp trail by 30 points in the latest poll. Picture: Phil Wilkinson

The YouGov survey put support for a No vote at 59 per cent compared with 29 per cent for a Yes vote based on the voting intentions of 1,171 Scottish adults. One in ten people were still undecided and 2 per said they would not vote in the referendum on 18 September 2014.

The previous largest gap was recorded in May, when support for independence stood at 31 per cent while support for the union was again 59 per cent. Another poll that month put the gap at just eight percentage points, according to an analysis of polls this year by Scottish Centre for Social Research.

The latest results were contained in a wider poll of attitudes to the future of the constitution, commissioned by the Devo Plus group, which campaigns for more powers for Holyrood within the UK.

Devo Plus chairman Ben Thomson said it exposed some “unexpected” results, including the suggestion that only three-quarters of Labour voters plan to vote against independence.

Mr Thomson said: “It is interesting that even between the two largest parties We’ve seen a significant cross-over of voting intentions.”