Nicola Sturgeon news: Nightmare as support for Scottish independence and SNP plummets | Politics | News

BBCQT: SNP challenged over independence claims

Nicola Sturgeon has been hit by a fresh hammer blow after new polling suggested support for Scottish independence and the SNP overall has plummeted. The latest polling of 2,100 Scots from Lord Ashcroft for Holyrood magazine indicated the country would vote 56 percent to 44 percent in favour of remaining in the UK. That is almost identical to the failed Scottish independence referendum from 2014, which saw Scots vote by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent against splitting from Britain.

Nationalists had been buoyed by a series of polls towards the end of last year after they suggested a slight lead for the “Yes” vote in a hypothetical IndyRef2.

This had come after the UK Supreme Court ruled a Scottish independence referendum could not be held without the consent of Westminster, leading to Ms Sturgeon insisting she will use next year’s UK general election as a “de facto” Scottish independence referendum.

But the latest poll suggests there is very little support for that, with only a fifth (21 percent) of Scots agreeing with it.

A massive two-thirds (67 percent) said the First Minister “cannot assume that ever vote for the SNP and Greens is a vote for Scottish independence”.

nicola sturgeon scottish independence

Nicola Sturgeon has seen support for Scottish independence slump in a new poll (Image: GETTY)

nicola sturgeon independence

Scotland’s First Minister is continuing to push for Scotland to split from the rest of the UK (Image: GETTY)

Only a fifth of poll participants believed the standard of living would rise in an independent Scotland while more than half (57 percent) think food prices would increase.

Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) think taxes would increase and 41 per cent believe unemployment would increase and furthermore, 62 percent of voters predict an independent Scotland would need to make “painful cuts” in public spending.

However, it’s not just support for IndyRef2 that has plummeted, with just four in 10 people taking part in the poll saying they will likely back the SNP in the next general election – down from the 45 per cent who voted for the party in 2019.

The survey also suggests Scotland’s ruling Government is out of step with what voters actually want, as keeping Scotland in the UK has emerged as a bigger priority for them than splitting Scotland from the rest of the UK.

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scottish independence referendum

Support for Scottish independence has fallen among voters, according to the new poll (Image: GETTY)

The NHS, cost of living crisis and the economy are the top three priorities for voters, but they believe Nationalists are focussing on Scexit and gender reform, with just 22 percent saying they think the NHS is a Scottish Government priority.

In a further blow, half of Scots think the UK Government was right to block Ms Sturgeon’s gender reform law compared with just a third (33 percent) wo didn’t.

Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: “This poll shows Scots do not want to break up the UK, and they overwhelmingly oppose Nicola Sturgeon’s tactics for doing so.

“It’s yet another poll showing support for Scotland’s place at the heart of the UK, and a firm rejection of the SNP’s obsession to break it apart. Scotland’s positive future is with the rest of the UK, and it’s time the Scottish Government started respecting that.

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Isla Bryson was initially sent to Cornton Vale women’s jail in Stirling (Image: PA)

“The fact two-thirds oppose the First Minister’s plan for a de facto referendum is also a message she should hear loud and clear. It’s time for the people’s priorities, not the SNP’s.”

This is the latest blow for Ms Sturgeon who is facing calls to quit after a another poll revealed the fury from Scottish voters over her handling of the trans rapist scandal and self-ID gender laws.

The Panelbase survey for The Sunday Times of Scottish 1,415 voters carried out in the past week found 42 percent thought the First Minister and SNP leader should resign now.

Less than half (45 percent) said she should remain in her role until the next Scottish election in 2026, with the remaining 13 percent of respondents undecided.

Two-thirds (67 percent) who expressed a view believed women’s safe spaces, such as hospital wards and changing rooms would come under threat from the SNP leader’s controversial plans to allow people to self-identify their legal gender.

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Ten Scottish constituencies with the highest percentage of IndyRef ‘No’ votes (Image: EXPRESS)

Scotland’s First Minister and her SNP Government have been coming under increasing pressure amid the fallout from from trans rapist Isla Bryson initially being sent to a women’s prison.

Last month, Bryson was convicted of two rapes, which were committed when the sex offender was using the name Adam Graham. But Bryson only started to transition after appearing in court on rape charges.

Bryson was sent to Cornton Vale women’s jail in Stirling, despite court chiefs wanting to send the rapist to men-only Barlinnie prison in Glasgow.

At the time, SNP guidance at the time Bryson was imprisoned stated trans criminals should be sent to the prison that matches the self-identified gender that they were living in prior to conviction.



*This story has not been edited by The Infallible staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.

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