Support for independence has soared to 52% in Scotland since the 2016 referendum on Brexit, according to an opinion poll conducted just before the United Kingdom left the EU on Friday.
The result of the poll is good news for Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, who is pressing for the holding of a second referendum on independence after her pro-independence camp lost an earlier one, held in 2014.
The British Government has refused to hold another referendum.
The new poll, published on Sunday evening, was done on 28-31 January by the online polling institute Panelbase and the pro-independence daily, the National.
This is the third poll in two weeks that shows increasing support for independence, favoured by around 50% of Scottish voters.
At the last referendum on independence, organised in 2014, 55% of the vote had been in favour of remaining part of the United Kingdom. Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson refuses to organise a new referendum, saying the 2014 consultation had settled the issue.
Nicola Sturgeon argues, however, that Brexit, against which 62% of Scotland’s electorate voted at the 2016 referendum, has changed things. By separating from the rest of the UK, Scotland hopes to be able to re-join the EU.
Scot Goes Pop Editor-in-Chief James Kelly described the outcome of the latest opinion poll as the best result in favour of independence for all polls since the 2016 referendum.
Britain left the EU on Friday evening, after being a member for 47 years. It has now entered a transition phase during which European rules will continue to apply in Britain.
London has until the end of this year to negotiate the terms of its relationship with the new 27-member Europe, especially in the area of trade.
The Brussels Times
