A new opinion poll has found that half of Scots would vote SNP in the next general election if a victory for the party could lead to Scottish independence.
According to the Find Out Now survey it found that of the 1,006 Scots asked 51 per cent would vote for Nicola Sturgeon's party if their vote would be used as a mandate to negotiate independence with the UK Government, while a third said they would not.
Of those asked, 412 of whom voted SNP in the last general election, 50 per cent said they would vote SNP at the next general election if a victory for them could lead to Scotland leaving the UK.
A third (33 per cent) said they would not, while the remainder said they do not know or prefer not to say.
The First Minister announced on Wednesday that her party would use the next election, which is predicted to take place in 2024, as a de facto referendum on Scottish independence.
It came after the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Holyrood does not have the power to hold a second independence referendum without the consent of the UK Government.
The poll for Channel 4 asked what was most important to them, just over a quarter (26 per cent) said Scottish independence, while 61 per cent said the Scottish economy and public services, while 13 per cent said they do not know or prefer not to say.
Sturgeon also announced that a special SNP conference will be held in the new year "to discuss and agree the detail of a proposed de facto referendum", using the next UK election.
At an independence rally outside the Scottish Parliament, Sturgeon said: "Any partnership in any walk of life that requires one party to seek the consent of another to choose its own future is not voluntary - it is not a partnership at all.
"And while today's ruling may create temporary relief on the part of unionist politicians and parties, they should know the hardest questions that have been posed today are questions for them.
"The Westminster establishment may think they can block a referendum, but let me be clear... no establishment, Westminster or otherwise, will ever silence the voice of the Scottish people."
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