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At last weekend's party conference, the First Minister announced she would launch a fresh push for independence during the next parliament.

It is the greatest support for the Union seen since August 2014 - one month before the referendum - and comes as a huge blow to the SNP leadership.

The latest Scottish Social Attitudes survey shows that just 42 per cent of people want the country to leave the UK, compared with 58 per cent who want to stay.

Her controversial comments came just days after new figures revealed that Scotland's economy is running a £15billion deficit, while the oil price continues to plummet.

Nicola Sturgeon should get on with the day job and use the powers she has to make Scotland a better place rather than threatening another referendum like she did last week

Last night, opponents said the latest poll proved that an increasing number of Scots want to remain in the UK and hit back at threats of another referendum.

Alastair Cameron, director of Scotland in Union, said: "Most people will recognise the fall in oil revenue and the £15 billion deficit that was exposed last week means that Scotland is better off part of the UK and it's no surprise that support for independence is tumbling.

"Nicola Sturgeon should get on with the day job and use the powers she has to make Scotland a better place rather than threatening another referendum like she did last week."

The Scottish Social Attitudes (SSA) survey, published on Thursday, is based on 1,288 face-to-face interviews carried out between July 2015 and January this year.

It is funded by the Scottish Government and states that it provides a "reliable and robust picture of changing public attitudes over time".

Asked their constitutional preference, 701 respondents said they wanted Scotland to remain in the UK either with (629) or without (72) its own parliament.

Of those polled, 507 said they would prefer if Scotland was not part of the UK, with 80 failing to answer the question.

With "don't know" and "refused" responses removed from the poll, 58 per cent want to remain in the UK and 42 per cent would choose to leave.

Significantly, the selection process favoured the SNP with 543 of the party's supporters included in the sample.

The last time a poll showed such support for the Union was back in August 2014 when two surveys reported 61-39 and 58-42 splits in favour of the UK.

Scottish Conservative MSP Alex Johnstone said: "Nationalists have continually run with this rhetoric that the referendum was close and some No voters regret backing the union.

"This study exposes that lie, and shows Scotland's place in the UK is well and truly cemented.

"A majority of people realise that we're economically better off as part of the UK, and the UK is better off with Scotland at its heart."

When "don't know" and "refused" responses are included, the poll shows 39 per cent back independence, with 54 per cent against.

The SNP pointed out that this was a 10-point increase on the previous SSA survey in 2013, although, the form of the questions have changed.

A spokeswoman added: "Independence will only be achieved when a majority of the people of Scotland show their support for it through a referendum.

"It is our responsibility to work hard and convince those who were not persuaded at the time of the referendum of the benefits that will come from even more of decisions being made here in Scotland and not by a Tory government in London."

The referendum on September 18, 2014, found that 55 per cent of the population wanted to remain in the UK, while 45 per cent wanted to leave.

Despite being promised the crucial vote was a "once in a generation" event, Ms Sturgeon has vowed to launch a second bid for separation this summer.

She intends to hold a nationwide campaign to build support for ending the 309-year-old union shortly after June's referendum on EU membership.