SCOTLAND would vote for independence by a significant majority were a second referendum held tomorrow, an exclusive new poll for The National has suggested.
The survey, conducted by Find Out Now, found that 52% of Scots said they would vote Yes to leave the Union in a rerun of the 2014 vote, an 11-point lead over the 41% of Scots who would back No.
In total, 7% of Scots said they did not know how they would vote. With these removed, 56% of Scottish voters said they would back independence against 44% who said they would vote for the Union.
Find Out Now polled 1417 Scottish adults between April 7-11 for the poll, with a nationally representative sample of 1112 people then being used to predict how a second independence referendum might go.
The question used was: “If another Scottish independence referendum was held tomorrow, with the question ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’, how would you vote?”
Subsamples suggested that every region of Scotland except for the south would vote for independence, with strongest backing for Yes in Glasgow and the Highlands and Islands.
Further subsamples also reinforced previous data suggesting that independence support is much stronger among younger voters.
Among those aged 16-29, 67% backed Yes against 22% for No. For the oldest group polled, those aged 75 and older, 65% supported the Union to 33% who backed Yes.
Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater told The National: “It is no wonder that support for independence is growing. For years, Labour told us that what we really needed was a change in government in Westminster, but those words are looking increasingly hollow.
“They promised change but are offering more of the same cruel and toxic policies of the Tories. With the rise of the far right in England, things could be about to get a lot worse.
“If Scotland had the powers of a normal independent country we could do far more for our environment and to tackle the vast inequality that has been made far worse by years of cuts by Westminster.
“We could finally undo the damage of a Brexit that was delivered by Nigel Farage and the Tories and rejoin Europe.
“Next year Scotland will go to the ballot box. Independence can and must be a big theme of the election. Every vote for the Scottish Greens will be a vote for a fairer, greener and independent Scotland.”
A spokesperson for Alba said: “This poll confirms what we’re seeing on the ground. Yes supporters are mobilising, and momentum for independence is growing.
“The people of Scotland haven’t given up on self-determination, and neither have we. It’s now time for the Scottish Government to match that energy.
“We need to push forward, not backtrack. The path to independence requires urgency, clarity, and commitment.”
The SNP have appeared to put independence lower down their agenda in recent months, with the party's former policy convener, Toni Giugliano, last month saying he had "never seen our party so hesitant on independence". The white paper series on independence has also been cut short and the unit which was tasked with preparing the documents disbanded.
However, speaking on Monday at a press conference at Bute House, First Minister John Swinney insisted that now is the “right time” for Scottish independence.
“Let's take, for example, some of the opportunities that independence would bring in relation to access to the European Union,” he said. “It would provide us with access to the ability to attract the working age population, which is currently a challenge for us here in Scotland.
“It would also give us the opportunity to trade more extensively with the European Union …
“Independence is a way around [Brexit], it's a way of countering that by making sure that we have access to the range of powers and responsibilities that allow us to put our economy on a stronger footing, and that remains my hope and my aspiration.
He added: “The time is right for [independence] because it's so important that we have the economic scope and powers to act in the interests of the people of Scotland.”
