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THE final poll of the referendum campaign has predicted a narrow victory for No.

The exclusive survey for the Daily Record found 53 per cent of Scots will reject independence in Thursday's crunch ballot.

A total of 1266 Scots were interviewed by telephone in a 24 hour period up to 9pm last night in the most sophisticated piece of polling in the referendum campaign.

And the findings give a slightly wider victory for Better Together than a spate of other polls carried out in the previous 24 hours.

For the latest news on polling day you can follow our blog by clicking here

Pollsters Survation blitzed phones across the country throughout the day to get the most accurate and up-to-date snapshot of opinion before polling stations opened this morning.

They found 43 per cent of voters are planning to vote Yes, whilst 48 per cent are planning to vote No.

When you remove the 9 per cent who are still undecided that would give a referendum result of 53 per cent No and 47 per cent Yes.

Final exclusive Daily Record poll Daily Record

And while No’s majority is wafer thin, it is more comfortable for unionists than a raft of other polls carried out in recent days.

A survey conducted by Ipsos-MORI and published today put support for Yes on 49 per cent against 51 per cent for No when undecideds are excluded.

And another poll carried out by Panelbase put No ahead of Yes by 52 per cent to 48 per cent with Don’t Knows removed .

The 52 per cent - 48 per cent split echoed three polls released on Tuesday night. The surveys, for Opinium, ICM and Survation, all had the same result.

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Telephone polls are widely considered to be more accurate than online polls. Survation contacted a mix of mobile phones and landlines to ensure an accurate profile of the Scottish population.

Survation chief executive Damian Lyons Lowe said: “This poll was conducted by telephone right up until 9pm on the final day before the key vote. “We used a systematic random sample of both mobiles and landlines - approximately a 50/50 split, and sought from the beginning to reflect the eligible Scottish population.

“With it’s large sample size, combined with a method intended to take the opinions of otherwise ‘difficult to reach’ voters we have confidence that it’s design has made every effort to reflect the opinions of all Scottish voters.”

Better Together campaign director Blair McDougall said the tightness of the polls meant nobody could afford a protest vote.

“If we vote to leave the UK there would be no going back, no matter the risks to our jobs, pensions and NHS,” he said.

“There are so many unanswered questions in this referendum. If you don’t know, vote No.

“There is a better way to make our country a better place to live. We can have faster, better, safer change for Scotland within the UK. That’s why we should vote No.”

Yes Scotland boss Blair Jenkins said the variety of polls showed that the referendum is on a “knife edge” as Scots prepare to cast their ballot.

“This will spur on everybody who wants and is working hard for a Yes to redouble their efforts,” he added.

“People know that a Yes vote is Scotland’s one opportunity to achieve job-creating powers, protect our NHS from the damaging impact of Westminster cuts and privatisation, and ensure that never again do we get Tory governments imposed on Scotland that we have roundly rejected.

“The empty offer of a very few more powers from the No campaign has unravelled within 24 hours, in the face of a Tory revolt at Westminster. Only a Yes vote can secure all the powers that Scotland needs to create more jobs and secure our NHS for the future.”

Jenkins said the campaign was “working flat-out to ensure that we achieve a Yes vote, because it’s the biggest opportunity we will ever have to build a fairer society and more prosperous economy”.

He added: “This referendum is unlike any that has been held before because of an expected record turnout - which we believe will favour the Yes vote.”