A “SIGNIFICANT minority” of No voters want decisions about indyref2 made by ministers in Scotland rather than by ministers in Westminster, a new poll has revealed.
Some 28% of Scots who voted to stay in the Union in 2014 believe that it should be up to the Scottish Government to decide whether a second independence referendum should be held. Twenty-seven per cent of the country think the decision over timing should be taken at Holyrood, and 33% believe Scottish ministers should have the final say over the question posed.
The survey, carried out for the Progress Scotland think tank set up by former SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson, also revealed that overall 58% of Scots want the decision on whether there should be a new vote, and the timing of that new vote, to be decided in Edinburgh rather than London.
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And 62% said decisions around the questions asked in that referendum should be taken by the Scottish rather than UK Government.
SNP depute Keith Brown said it was clear that the public want an independence referendum to be made in Scotland, not in Westminster.
“People in Scotland deserve the opportunity to determine our future,” he added. “It would be a democratic outrage for the Tories to try and stand in the way of democracy – and, as this poll shows, people in Scotland won’t stand for it.”
Mark Diffley, independent polling adviser to Progress Scotland, said the survey’s results reflect other polls suggesting “that Scots trust the Scottish Government more than the UK Government and that the majority want the Scottish Government to have most influence over the way Scotland is run".
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He added: “As might be expected, the survey shows that over 80% of those who voted Yes in 2014 think the Scottish Government should have the final say on all of these issues; however, a significant minority of 2014 No voters also back these propositions, including 28% who think it should decide on whether indyref2 should be held, 27% who think it should decide its timing and 33% who think it should have the final say on the question posed.”
Robertson said the poll, the first to be conducted on indyref2 since the referendums legislation was published, showed a “strong majority for Scotland’s future to be decided in Scotland and not by the UK government”.
He added: “Progress Scotland is particularly interested in the changing views of people in Scotland in relation to independence.
“We are about to begin a round of focus group research to better understand what is making the open minded and undecided change their thinking.”
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