New poll shows a decline in support for Scottish Independence
Following the announcement of Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation last month, support of the cause has been on a steady decline, only worsened by some of the candidates’ recent controversial comments.
According to the poll by Redfield and Wilton which was conducted in the wake of Sturgeon’s shock resignation, 55% of people say they would not vote in favour of independence, a huge rise of 10% since November.
When compared to the previous poll, which came following the Supreme Court ruling that Holyrood could not hold a referendum without clearance from Westminster, over half surveyed said that their vote was “unaffected” by the First Minister’s resignation.
Almost half of those polled said they do not know who they would vote for as the next First Minister, with the current finance secretary Kate Forbes the favourite with a quarter of votes.
Humza Yousaf follows with 18% and Ash Regan brings up the rear with 14%.
Despite both the lack of support for independence and apparent disinterest in the leadership race, support for the SNP is still largely there.
When asked, Scottish voters still showed that SNP would be their go-to in a UK General Election. The SNP had a ten-point lead over Labour, who sat at 29%, with the Tories behind at 22%.
This comes as a disappointment to Keir Starmer’s Labour, who had the opportunity to gain support in Scotland once again.
Those polled said that Starmer’s first year in office at Labour made no difference to their voting sway or independence.
As her time in office ends, Redfield and Wilton’s poll has shown that Sturgeon has changed the view of the party, and certainly herself, for the better.
At the start of her term Nicola Sturgeon entered office with a net approval rating of 40% disapproval.
She is now set to leave office with a positive rating, with her overall job performance since she stepped up at 42% approving.
However, this is still 14% lower than her rating in November of last year.
