Nationalist trolls 'bring shame on Scotland', claims Alistair Darling: Better Together leader lashes out as support for Scottish independence reaches record high



S upport for independence is running at a record high, survey says

Pro-independence supporters have cut unionist lead to six points

Results come after series of gaffes from the cross-party no campaign

Action: Former Chancellor Alistair Darling claims the English should have a vote on whether a separate Scotland could keep the pound

Alistair Darling yesterday accused Scottish nationalists of ‘monstering’ anyone who dares to speak out in favour of the Union.



Labour’s former Chancellor, leader of the Better Together anti-independence campaign, appeared rattled as a poll showed its lead had fallen to just six points.



He denied the No campaign had been too negative, saying it was in fact the Yes lobby who were ‘bringing shame on Scotland’ by indulging in personal online attacks.

Last week angry nationalists called for a boycott of Scotland-based Barrhead Travel, one of the UK’s largest travel agents, after its boss Bill Munro emailed staff to say independence would be a ‘complete disaster’.



And rock legend David Bowie was the target of internet trolls after he urged Scotland to ‘stay with us’ at the Brit Awards.

Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Mr Darling said: ‘The negativity... is largely coming from the nationalists, who in the last week alone, when anyone speaks out against them they monster them.’

His words came as, five months from the referendum, the latest survey has shown support for independence is running at a record high.

Pro-independence supporters have whittled down the unionist lead from more than 24 points last year to six this weekend, polling company Panelbase said.

Panelbase said the narrowing of results has come after a series of gaffes from the cross-party no campaign .

Better Together was left reeling last month when an unnamed UK minister reportedly dismissed one of the British government's central messages on independence, that Scotland would not be allowed to share the pound with the rest of the UK.

Alistair Darling's leadership of the campaign also came into further question last week when he suggested that a shared currency might be the subject of an English referendum.

Panelbase was the first pollster to record a spike in support for the SNP before Alex Salmond won the 2011 Scottish election.



Some nationalists have reportedly claimed that, with the Yes campaign gaining momentum so rapidly in the build-up to September’s vote, the opinion poll lead could be reversed as early as July.

Closing the gap: Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland, is leading the Yes Scotland campaign

.@murdo_fraser Panelbase results are very bizarre. Best sticking with the more credible pollsters. #indyref — Rob Murray (@robmurray11) April 5, 2014





The poll for the pro-independence political website Wings Over Scotland found that when the 14 per cent of voters who are undecided are excluded, 47 per cent intend to vote yes and 53 per cent no.

Yes Scotland chief executive Blair Jenkins said the poll showed the campaign was 'moving steadily in the right direction.'

He said: 'This is a very encouraging poll. What it clearly indicates is that 'Project Fear' is failing and that increasing numbers of people are realising that Yes promises a better future for themselves, their families and for Scotland.

'People are carefully weighing up the consequences and costs of a No vote - not least the costs to business and the economy, as well as Westminster's attacks on hard-working families and vulnerable people - and, as a result, support for Yes is going up.'

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: 'We take absolutely nothing for granted, but Yes now needs a swing of only three percent to win, and we are confident of achieving a Yes vote in September.

'Alistair Darling and the No campaign have serious questions to answer about their bluff over the pound, but he seems to be burying his head in the sand and incapable of shifting from what is a deeply negative campaign.'

Better Together? Panelbase said the results come after a series of gaffes from the cross-party no campaign Backers of Better Together fear it has been left behind by its Yes Scotland rivals in the advertising war

Mr Darling meanwhile played down any significance of the Panelbase results, which he described as 'something of an outlier in Scottish polls'.

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: 'If you look at the change from this month to last month, it hasn't changed one bit. Our lead is exactly the same.

'Every single poll conducted this year and last year as well shows us with a consistent lead.

'The majority of people in Scotland are against independence. I believe we will win this, provided we get across our arguments about the benefits of the UK to Scotland and we make our arguments strongly.

'There is a very strong, powerful case for staying part of the UK in terms of jobs, in terms of opportunities, in terms of the ability of us in Scotland as a country to improve people's standard of living, to make sure we have a fair and just society.

'We have strong bonds of culture, of kinship, of family, a shared history of 300 years. There is a powerful case for staying in the UK to be made and we will continue to make it.'

