ANAS Sarwar and Keir Starmer have been branded “out of touch” after a new poll revealed Labour voters overwhelmingly support Scotland’s right to determine its future – if the SNP win a landslide next month.
Research by Ipsos MORI poll shows two-thirds of 2019 UK Labour voters think the Tory government should agree to a referendum in the next five years if the SNP win a majority in the Holyrood election.
A third of Conservative voters also believe Boris Johnson should sign off on indyref2, as do 53% of LibDem voters.
Overall, more than half (51%) of respondents agreed an SNP majority would represent a mandate which Westminster should not contest, while 40% disagreed.
Support for holding another referendum is highest among those in Northern Ireland (66%) and Scotland (56%), while a majority of those in England and Wales also believe the SNP should be able to hold a second vote (51%).
READ MORE: Majority of UK voters back indyref2 if SNP win majority in Holyrood election
The results have sparked accusations from the SNP that Labour leaders in Westminster and Holyrood – who have repeatedly refused to countenance another plebiscite – are out of kilter with their own supporters.
SNP depute leader Keith Brown said: “Not only does this poll show that Boris Johnson cannot continue to stand in the way of the democratic wishes of the people of Scotland it also shows how out of touch Keir Starmer is with his own party voters as well as members. Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer's opposition is becoming increasingly untenable; they cannot continue to deny the people of Scotland their democratic wishes if they choose it.
“Each of the four nations of the UK are united in recognising the democratic wishes of the people of Scotland, but Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer continue to be at odds with the rest of the country.
“These findings also demonstrate how out of touch Keir Starmer and Anas Sarwar are. They are not only out of touch with the people of Scotland, but with their own party members and voters. Their denial of democracy is identical to the Tories."
On a visit to Scotland over the weekend, Starmer echoed Scottish Labour’s pledge to ignore demands for a vote on independence.
He said: “Labour will put the national recovery in Scotland above all else, and will focus on what unites us, not what divides us.”
Sarwar has consistently rejected calls to back a fresh breakaway ballot. Earlier this year, he sacked his party's candidate for Glasgow Kelvin, Hollie Cameron, over her support for another independence referendum.
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