Scottish voters do not want referendum for next two years, poll finds

Support would rise if Westminster blocked ballot, poll suggests

Nicola Sturgeon launched a referendum-seeking bill on Monday (Getty)

Voters in Scotland do not want an independence referendum in the next two years, a poll has suggested as the Scottish government published a draft bill laying out the terms of a possible future ballot.

Nearly half (49 per cent) of voters think “coronavirus should be completely eliminated in Scotland” before a referendum is held while just 35 per cent support a vote in the next two years, according to a poll conducted by Hanbury Strategy for think tank Onward.

Support for independence fell by 6 points to 50 per cent during the week Nicola Sturgeon gave evidence to the Scottish parliament on the Alex Salmond affair according to the poll

The poll tracked how support for independence has been volatile in recent weeks. Between the end of February and the first weekend in March, support fell by 12 per cent, going from 56 per cent in favour and 44 per cent against to an even split.

Support for independence still remains around 15 per cent higher than before the 2014 referendum, standing at a total of 50 per cent. A Yes vote retains a 30+ point lead among 18-45 year olds, a 16 point lead among the working class and net support in five of Scotland's eight regions.

Read more:

• Fall in support for Scottish independence could be result of ‘vaccine bounce’, analysis suggests
• Scots ‘turning against’ SNP plan for independence referendum
• Referendum bill ‘could see’ Scots vote on independence this year

The Scottish government on Monday published the draft Referendum Bill, which seeks to hold a vote in the first half of the next parliamentary term if the SNP are reelected, a move opposed by the UK government.

If the SNP won a majority and the UK government refused a referendum, 35 per cent of voters said they would be more likely to vote for independence.

Though near the same proportion (33 per cent) said they would be less likely to vote Yes if the Scottish government were to hold a referendum without Westminster's approval.

Many voters said the focus on constitutional questions was distracting from the other priorities of the country. Three-fifths (61 per cent) agreed that politicians had been distracted from issues of health, education and the police in recent years due to constitutional matters.

The poll did however find that voters though most issues would be better handled if Scotland were independent.

The only issues on which Scottish voters thought they would suffer by leaving the UK were foreign affairs and defence, reform of the UK constitution and sourcing vaccine supplies.