A poll to darken Salmond's day

Adam Nixon

Secesion, not independence. Scotland is already independent and chooses to participate in the UK. If it chooses to leave, that will be secession not independence.

Maggie

Salmond's not going to be there forever. They've just realised that in an independent Scotland they could end up with Tommy Sheridan as PM.

George Shepherd

Jonathan - nice try But 37% in favour of independence is a big number, in an historical context

- Salmond & Co. will be delighted with this result

But there is still too much confusion over the real game here

Devo Max will be the outcome one way or another - a realistic and desirable aim for Salmond and a practical face saver for Cameron

Everything else is just "noise"

So, let's see some realistic questions and discussion about the post Devo Max landscape - and also some thoughts on which other parts of the UK might also want Devo Max

The Speccie should only allow Massie and Nelson to write about Scotland as other journos can just end up looking superficial and foolish

nonny mouse

This is a disaster! A damaged SNP will give Labour a chance to retain their Scottish Westminster MPs. What we want is a humbled SNP, not a laughing stock SNP.

Still, on the bright side, all is still to play for because Ed Miliband is on the NO side and we all know how good he was in the last referendum.

ratzo

The poll shows a continuing trend.

Support for the yes vote is climbing. The gap between yes and no votes is closing.

John White

There's two and a half years of economic recovery before the poll. How can the Union lose?

Lonesome Dave

Salmond's best tactic would be to campaign to let the English have a vote on the issue.

I really don't undestand the reluctance to take advantage of this opportunity and dramatically reduce our welfare payments.

Nickle

Time for England to have a vote on Scotland remaining in the Union.

Time to vote to kick them out.

daniel maris

So he has to persuade something like one in 14 voters to vote yes...not an impossible target.

Andy

Just wait until young Scots students realise that in an independent Scotland, english students will get free tuition. The prospect of a large fees Uturn by eck will send his support plummeting amoungst the numpties who think independence means free

Sean Haffey

I really find myself wanting to throw up at another two or three years of article on Scottish independence. What happened to "If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well It were done quickly"?

Mac

Compared to the last Ipsos MORI in Dec 2011 this latest poll show a 4% increase for independence and 8% decrease for the status quo.

To have a 12% change in the polls over a month reflects exactly what happened to public opinion in the lead up to the 2011 Scottish elections that resulted in a landslide SNP victory.

This poll is great news for having a positive and progressive campaign for independence.

Pettros

Que a barrage of 'I think England should have a vote for getting rid of Scotland!, lets be shot of them! etc, Hadrians Wall!,etc,etc,etc'.
The thought that this could go on for another 2.5 years is soul destroying. It is important but I think it should be forgotten about until at least early 2014 please.

Peninsual

Interesting how this article fails to mention that support for the Union has fallen from 57% to 50% since Ipsos MORI's poll in December 2011.

A 7% fall in support in 6 weeks is not worth mentioning?

It is blatantly obvious which way the wind is blowing. Ignoring it won't make it go away.

hereward

I agee with pettros-Let us lance this boil now! Else-a no vote will take us to Devo_Max and years more wrangling.A rejection of the validity of Devo-Max will in turn lead to another referendum.IN or OUT Scots.

Andy

I followed the link to the poll and saw that support for independence is at 39% (+1), not the 37% reported here.

justathought

English people telephoning Scottish voters for their opinion on independence for Scotland throws up some questions on how reliable the responses would be!

A much larger poll was taken last week by the telegraph asking the same question. The sampling was sixteen times bigger than that used by MORI and out of the 16,176 who responded 51.9% said they would vote "yes" and 48.1% said they would vote "no".

You do have to ask yourself what is the point of drawing conclusions form a poll taken 2.5 years before an independence vote anyway?

Owen Morgan

Maggie makes a good point (which isn't a compliment I'd pay to many of the other commenters out there).

While I can't stand Alex Salmond, I do wish him a long and healthy life, but the SNP, as it currently stands, would be high and dry without him.

Yes, the other parties in Scotland are no better served by their politicians, but, well, that's my point really. Do people in Scotland really want to be ruled by the bunch of clowns in Holyrood?

I am no enthusiast for the crowd in Westminster, either. Of the bunch, Salmond is the most capable politician in the UK, but that doesn't mean that his political skills amount to effectiveness in government, still less that they conjure up hitherto hidden abilities among his dismal footsoldiers.

Jim Richardson

Build your castle in your blue sky thinking if you must Mr. Salmond, however, letting it out let alone selling it to a nation may prove to be more difficult task than you may think.

Hexhamgeezer

If the SNP had any sense they could co-opt the many sympathetic English here who would love to assist them in their quest to form a new arc of prosperity. Is there a way they could organise postal votes like Labour do in London.

Alex. we await your call!

Ryan

The longer this debate goes on the more support there will be England to cut Scotland loose.

And use the barnet formula to gift Scotland, £143bn in debt and repatriate Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling at the same time!

Mac

The English gave Scotland Margaret Thatcher.

In return the Scots gave England Gordon Brown.

Do the English want to repeat the exercise starting with David Cameron?

Gordon Fraser

What are the chances of a 'decent unionist campaign'? If it carries on as it has thus far 37% will be 50+% long before Autumn 2014.

alan duncan

salmond and his ego trip along with his black shirts wil;l destroy scotish business,split the country and set scotland back years.AbouT time salmond startted with the facts&figures as fact is scotland cant afford to pay for all a country needs.If the yes supportters looked at the fact&figures instead of watching braveheart they would be as keen!!!

James

What a strange way to spin a poll. The last time Mori polled Scottish independence, their result was 38-57. This result is 39-50. Any un-biased person would suggest that was an improved result for the yes campaign, not a bad one.

ThigArLatha

Well - as usual we are getting the "too poor,too wee, too stupid" crowd, the "We subsidise them let them go" crowd and the "Blame Maggie" crowd.
You know it is getting boring.
Fact - none of us know how Scotland and England will do in the future. I hope Scotland prospers but I can't be sure that it will. I think it will however
I wish England well and hope it does well too. Being pro-Scotland does not, and hopefully will never again, mean you have to be anti-English.
Second fact there are lots of countries round about the 5m mark. Denmark,Norway New Zealand etc etc. Most appear to do reasonably well. If Scotland is currently uniquely unsuited then this is surely no advert for the Union/Devolution?

John White

"There's two and a half years of economic recovery before the poll. How can the Union lose?"

Damn, Osborne is in charge.

Gerry Boy

Hats off to Adam Nixon and his long-term campaign to try to claim that the Scots independence campaign isnt anything of the kind because Scotland is already independent. It is a brilliant Alice in Wonderland definition and an Orwellian distortion of the English language. Well done Adam; keep up the campaign. Very entertaining and totally counter-productive.

David Halliday

As others have said, it's 39% not 37%. If you can be so quickly and eagerly wrong about something as basic as that, what hope of you providing a balanced analysis of the intricacies and nuances of the debate to come? I certainly won't be rushing back to this site for authoritative comment.

ThigArLatha

Gerry Boy - As someone who supports Scotland being outside the UK I actually think he is right.
I am Scottish,member of the SNP and want Scotland to leave the Union. However to be independent we need to have been a colony which Scotland is not. We joined a Union so leaving it would be a secession..
In reality it comes down to the two views of the Union.
The traditionally English view that Westminster is the English parliament (continuing) , the Scottish parliament closed and Scottish representatives are in effect being grafted on.
The traditionally Scottish view is that the two parliaments adjourned and the new 1707- parliament is in actuality a new institution. (Despite being in the site of the old English parliament)
If the English view is correct then Scotland has become a part of England or a colony and Independence is accurate.
If the Scottish view then Adam is absolutely right and we are arguing for secession from an independent country.
Take your pick but Winnie spoke about an adjourned parliament on the first words in Holyrood.

jock

Maggie "They've just realised that in an independent Scotland they could end up with Tommy Sheridan as PM" What a ludicrous comment. Perhaps Maggie hasn't realised we will end up with whoever WE choose to be PM.