YESTERDAY’s poll left Nicola Sturgeon under pressure to act sooner rather than later over indyref2.

The First Minister has said she would like to hold the vote next year, but she has also said that she would want the UK Government to agree to a Section 30 order, which would put the result beyond any legal doubt.

While the Prime Minister failed to rule out new independence referendum during his trip to Scotland last week, Alister Jack, the Secretary of State for Scotland has said he will advise Johnson to reject any request from Sturgeon for the order.

Green MSP Patrick Harvie said any attempt to block the vote would be “wholly untenable”.

“We already have a mandate to hold an independence referendum, yet the Tory Government has threatened to block a request. This would be an affront to democracy, and is wholly untenable in the face of public support for a vote.

“It’s time for Scotland to retake our place as an independent European nation.”

Dennis Canavan, the chair of the Yes Scotland advisory board in the run up to the 2014 referendum, said the poll strengthened the case for the vote to held before the next Scottish Parliament elections .

“Neither Boris Johnson nor Ruth Davidson can seriously argue that there is no demand for Indyref2.

“They are running scared because they fear that Indyref2 will lead to an independent Scotland,” he said.

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His fellow board member, the former SSP MSP, Colin Fox, said the lead for Yes was still narrow and blamed the SNP’s economic policies.

“This underlines the core belief of the SSP that the key to gaining a decisive Yes lead and a subsequent Yes victory is convincing Scotland’s working class majority that independence has the purpose of improving their lives for the better.

“We remain convinced that the SNP”s growth commission with it recipe of continuing austerity is a serious obstacle to this.”

Chair of Voices for Scotland Dave Thomson was optimistic: “The dam is about to burst and the flood which will follow will sweep all in front of it as Scotland takes its rightful place in the world’s family of nations.”

Former SNP minister Marco Biaggi urged caution: “This is one poll and a small lead. If Yes has taken a lead it will be confirmed by other polling companies. The duration of any change of opinion is also uncertain.

“The summer 2016 turnaround lasted a few months at most.”

He added: “And there is no telling what issues would be foremost in voters’ minds after a referendum campaign. Johnson and Corbyn are the ones Yes would like. No campaigners would undoubtedly prefer others. Control of the agenda is always as important as direct persuasion.”

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Writing in the Edinburgh Evening News, the SNP’s former depute leader Angus Robertson called the poll “sensational”.

“Finally for independence supporters, there is a sense that the tectonic plates are shifting, while amongst opponents there is private acknowledgement that opinions are changing.”

He added: “Just as one swallow does not a summer make, one poll is just a snapshot.

“However, it does reflect a wider trend in polling and voter research in Scotland.”