Majority of Scots would vote to 'remain in the UK', according to new poll

A clear majority of Scots would vote to "remain" in the UK if there was another referendum on independence, according to a new poll.



The survey, commissioned to mark the fifth anniversary of the first referendum, showed that 59% of voters north of the Border would reject leaving the UK if that was the question on the ballot paper.

Meanwhile, only 41% said they would vote "leave".

The pro-Union side won the 2014 vote by 55% to 45%, when the question asked was "Should Scotland be an independent country".

Nationalists insist that the same question should be put again if another referendum takes place.

But their opponents say that in any new poll, the question should reflect the Remain/Leave options presented to UK voters in the 2016 EU referendum.

The latest poll was carried out by Survation on behalf of the Scotland In Union group, whose chief executive Pamlea Nash said: "Just five years on from the referendum that Nicola Sturgeon promised was a ‘once-in-a-generation’ contest, this landmark poll shows that 59%of people in Scotland want to remain in the UK.

"People are seeing the chaos that Brexit has brought, and know that Scotland leaving the UK would be much worse."

But the SNP condemned the poll, and said changing the question in a second referendum risked "confusing" voters.

Deputy leader Keith Brown said: "“They are trying to rig the question in a deliberate bid to confuse independence with Brexit."