MOST SCOTTISH voters believe the UK is “no longer a fully democratic country” because of Westminster’s refusal to allow indyref2 under any circumstances.
The revelation is the latest finding of the Panelbase poll conducted for the ScotGoesPop! blog, supported by The National.
Earlier results from the survey put support for independence at 52% and suggested the SNP and Greens were on course to win 74 of the 129 seats in next year’s Scottish parliament elections, giving Yes backing parties a whopping majority of 19.
Nicola Sturgeon – who wants to hold indyref2 this year – wrote to Boris Johnson last December asking for the powers to hold a legally watertight referendum to be devolved to Holyrood.
READ MORE: ScotGoesPop! poll ought to give Labour and Tories food for thought
He said no, telling the First Minister that he could not “agree to any request for a transfer of power that would lead to further independence referendums”.
Other senior Tories have suggested there should be no vote on independence for many, many years. Jackson Carlaw, the party’s interim leader in Scotland, said the next referendum shouldn’t take place until 2054. In the survey, Panelbase asked voters if they thought the UK was or was not a “fully democratic country” if Johnson’s Government “does not allow the Scottish Parliament to call an independence referendum even if the SNP win an outright majority of seats in next year’s Scottish Parliament election.”
Once don’t knows were removed, 56% of those asked said the UK would no longer be a fully democratic country, while 44% insisted it would be.
In his analysis, ScotGoesPop! editor James Kelly said: “The results are stunning, and should give Tories both in London and Scotland severe pause for thought about the dangerous road they have embarked upon.”
He added: “Substantial minorities of groups who can reasonably be expected to be immune to ‘nationalist paranoia’ – for example people who vote for Unionist parties – are plainly unconvinced that denying a Section 30 order is consistent with democratic principles. 27% of Liberal Democrat voters, 38% of Labour voters, and even a thoughtful 6% of Conservative voters, say that the UK has ceased to be fully democratic.”
The SNP’s Depute Leader Keith Brown welcomed the findings: “With Boris Johnson’s Government saying ‘it doesn’t matter one jot what the Scottish Parliament has decided’ it’s no wonder opinion in Scotland is like this. There is a cast-iron democratic mandate for a referendum – a position backed by the people of Scotland again at the recent election and now endorsed by the Scottish Parliament.
READ MORE: Tories will always respect their mandate and rubbish the SNP's
“Support for independence is growing every day, with the latest polling showing a majority for Yes. Boris Johnson’s position is simply unsustainable – he cannot indefinitely stand in the way of democracy. The Tories’ excuses for blocking Scotland’s democratic right to decide its own future are becoming more desperate by the day – and also betray the fact they are running scared of the verdict of the people. The longer Boris Johnson tries to ignore democracy, the more support for independence will continue to grow.”
Meanwhile, one of Sturgeon’s former advisers has called on the SNP to wait until after the next General Election – not due until 2024 – before calling indyref2.
Writing in the Daily Record, Noel Dolan – who was Sturgeon’s most senior adviser – said the SNP should work with Labour to remove Johnson first.
Labour refused any pact with the SNP at the last election.
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