Panelbase survey: Support for Scottish Conservatives reaches 27%, SNP remains at 47%, Labour drops to 15%.

The Scottish Conservatives have risen in popularity by 3% boost in the last six months, according to a new poll.

The latest Panelbase survey puts the Tories at 27% in terms of voting intention, up from 24% in September 2016.

SNP support remained unchanged in the same period at 47%, while support for Scottish Labour fell by another point to 15%.

The boost for the Tories comes after the SNP announced an income tax hike in December which makes Scotland's wealthier citizens the highest-taxed in the UK. The move was approved last week as part of the annual Budget.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon insisted that the extra tax receipts would ensure "no £27,000 tuition fees [as in the rest of the UK], no charges for prescriptions, free personal care for elderly and an NHS delivering better than rUK."

Business leaders warned, however, that the move would "set a dangerous precedent" and alienate middle-class voters.

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson described the survey, carried out between January 20 and 26, the "first poll after the tax-grab budget," and said it should "spur" the party on "to put in a proper shift for May's [local] elections."

Here is how each party has fared in Panelbase polls since September 2013, according to polling site WhatScotlandThinks: