Views: 33 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2019-08-08 Origin: Reuters
LONDON - Scottish voters would vote for independence from the United Kingdom, according to a poll by Michael Ashcroft, the first major published survey to show a lead for
independence since March 2017.
Asked how they would vote in an independence referendum, 46% of the 1,019 surveyed voters said they would vote for independence and 43% against. Excluding those who said they did not know or would not vote, this amounted to a lead of 52% to 48% for an independent Scotland."In the wake of [Prime Minister] Boris Johnson's visit to Edinburgh last week I polled Scots to measure support for a second independence referendum and to gauge opinion on
independence itself," Ashcroft, a Conservative who opposed Johnson's leadership, said.
"I found a small majority in favor of a new vote – and the first lead for an independent Scotland for more than two years," he said.The 52-48 vote to leave the EU in a 2016 referendum strained ties between the constituent parts of the United Kingdom: while Wales and England vote to leave, Scotland and
Northern Ireland voted to stay.
The Scottish National Party (SNP), which runs the devolved government in Edinburgh, says that a second independence referendum is justified as Scotland is now being dragged out ofthe bloc against its will.