The Scottish government’s long-awaited blueprint for independence has failed to convince voters that they will be better off ending their 306-year-old union with England, according to three new polls.
The first YouGov poll since First Minister Alex Salmond released his 670-page vision statement on November 26 showed yesterday that the proportion of Scots opposed to independence was 52%, unchanged since a similar poll in September. The poll conducted between December 6 and 9 showed the number backing independence had edged up one percentage point to 33% with 13% of voters uncertain and 2% planning not to vote at the referendum on September 18 next year.
That echoed an Ipsos-Mori poll on Monday showing the independence prospectus had done little to shift voter intentions, with opposition at 57%, down two percentage points from September, and 34% support, up three percentage points. The poll found 10% of Scots undecided.
The first poll after the launch of the blueprint, by Progressive Scottish Opinion, put the Yes vote unchanged at 27% with the No vote at 56%, down from 59%.
The Scottish National Party (SNP), led by Salmond, had long heralded its independence white paper as a major turning point in the debate that could win over undecided voters after separatists have consistently lagged unionists in polls.
The blueprint promised Scots they could forge their own prosperity by taking charge of their own taxes and spending while keeping the pound, the queen and staying in the European Union (EU). “But this poll shows there hasn’t been a big change since the white paper which the Yes campaign hoped would shift opinion that has been static for the past year or so,” said YouGov spokesman Anthony Wells. “It will be a bit of disappointment for the Yes campaign.”