A NEW poll has given the SNP a projected majority of 71 MSPs in Holyrood at the upcoming election in May and another has put Yes ahead in indyref2.
A survey by online pollster Find Out Now and political consultancy firm Electoral Calculus for express.co.uk found that voters in Scotland would elect the SNP to lead the Scottish Government in the next parliamentary term.
More than 1000 Scottish adults were asked who they would vote for in their constituency and region if the Scottish Parliament election were to take place tomorrow.
Results were then combined and weighted to be demographically representative of the whole country.
Electoral Calculus found that the SNP would gain a comfortable majority of 71 of the 129 seats in Holyrood - higher than the 69 MSPs returned in 2011.
It also found that the independence-supporting Scottish Greens would gain a record 11 MSPs which would mean the Scottish Parliament would have at least 82 pro-independence members in the next parliamentary term.
The Scottish Tories would be the second largest party in the chamber with 24 seats and Labour would come third with 19 total MSPs.
The record performance by the Greens would make them the fourth-largest party and the LibDems would have four members.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon vows to hold indyref2 ‘if Scotland votes for it’
Another poll by Find Out Now and Electoral Calculus showed that a majority of those surveyed would vote Yes in a second independence referendum, if it were to take place tomorrow.
It asked voters: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”, the same question posed in 2014.
Results suggested that 48% of Scots would vote Yes while just 44% would vote No in indyref2.
The remaining 8% of voters were either undecided or did not have an opinion.
Removing those who did not have an opinion would return a 52% vote for Yes in an upcoming referendum on Scottish independence.
READ MORE: 'Not a win but a big shift': National columnist optimistic after indy debate
The survey work was condu
cted before former First Minister Alex Salmond announced his new pro-independence Alba Party on Friday.
The party has already secured a number of high-profile pro-indy candidates but Salmond said they would only be standing on the regional lists in Scotland and not competing against the SNP for the 73 constituency seats.
Speaking to the Sunday Mail, Salmond said that Nicola Sturgeon should be the First Minister following speculation his new party could affect an SNP majority.
He said: "I believe that she should be the First Minister because the SNP should win a handsome majority.
"She is the only viable independence candidate and therefore she is the best one.
"I have no ambition to be in government. I am not standing to be First Minister, I am standing for the Alba Party on the list to build an independence supermajority."
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