A third of Scots would back exit from EU

A THIRD of Scots are likely to vote for Scotland to leave the European Union if David Cameron holds an in-out referendum on Europe, a new poll showed.

Mr Cameron has pledged to hold a vote on EU membership if they win the general election. Picture: Ian Rutherford

Mr Cameron has pledged to hold a vote on EU membership if the Conservatives win next year’s general election. An ICM survey for The Scotsman showed 15 per cent of those polled said they would “definitely” vote to leave the EU, with 19 per cent saying they would “probably” back the UK’s exit from Europe.

However, almost half of the 1,000 Scots interviewed said they were likely to vote for the UK to remain a member of the EU. Twenty-three per cent said they would probably vote to stay in Europe and the same number said they would definitely vote for the UK to remain within the EU.

Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser said the findings showed Scots were equally as sceptical about increasing European integration as voters in other parts of the UK.

He said: “This gives lie to the claims often made by the Yes campaign that political attitudes in Scotland are widely different from those south of the Border.

“It shows that hardline attitudes towards immigration and growing Euro-scepticism are as much part of public opinion in Scotland than they are in the rest of the UK.”

The SNP insists Scotland would be a part of the EU in the event of a Yes vote in this year’s independence referendum on 18 September.

SNP MSP John Wilson said the ICM findings showed Scots overwhelmingly favoured staying within the EU, which he said had helped improve the employment rights of workers.

He said: “This poll highlights that the majority of Scots are content to be in the EU. Clearly they are convinced by the benefits of the EU.”