A POLL carried out for Wings Over Scotland has found that a third of SNP voters believe there was a “conspiracy” against former first minister Alex Salmond involving senior party and Scottish Government figures.
The former SNP leader was accused and then cleared of 13 sexual assault charges following a high-profile trial at Edinburgh’s High Court.
Salmond has said he will write a new book detailing the experience, which Jim Sillars has warned will be like a “volcanic eruption” for the party – even suggesting there may need to be a new pro-independence party after it its published.
Sillars said Salmond’s trial and acquittal showed there was a need “for a complete clear-out of the highest levels of the party before it is again fit to lead again”.
Panelbase has carried out a poll on behalf of the Wings Over Scotland blog – asking Scots about their support for independence, party affiliations and more.
READ MORE: Jim Sillars says SNP may have to quit after Alex Salmond's book
The poll asked 1086 adults if they believed “that there was a conspiracy involving senior SNP figures and Scottish civil servants to have Alex Salmond convicted of crimes he was found innocent of”.
Nearly a third (30%) of SNP voters who responded said they agreed, while slightly fewer (29%) disagreed. Some 41% said they did not know.
The poll results come after YouGov research published last week found that the SNP are on track to gain a majority at next year’s Holyrood election.
Meanwhile, a slightly higher proportion of Yes voters (31%) felt there had been a conspiracy against the former first minister. Nearly half of the No voters surveyed (49%) said there had not been.
READ MORE: Major new poll shows half of Scots support independence
The Wings Over Scotland poll also found that 50% of Scots now support independence.
The survey is in line with recent research indicating increased support for independence among the Scottish public.
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