Blow for Sturgeon as poll finds 53% of Scots want to stay in the UK

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Nicola Sturgeon suffered a blow today as a poll found that 53 per cent of Scots want to stay in the UK - after she denied that support for independence is fading.

Research by YouGov suggested another SNP bid to split the union would be rejected by voters, despite Ms Sturgeon renewing her vow to hold a referendum.

Excluding 'don't knows', just 47 per cent were in favour of breaking away - unchanged since May but the exact reverse of the summer last year when the Covid crisis was raging. 

Since then polls have shown backing for the separatist cause steadily drifting down, with Ms Sturgeon's response to the pandemic coming under fire. 

Challenged in an interview with the BBC last night that the evidence showed support was waning, Ms Sturgeon shot back: 'No it doesn't.'

She pointed to the last Holyrood elections, claiming that '45 per cent of people voted for independence'. 

'Occasionally, the polls are slightly above 50 per cent, occasionally they're slightly below 50 per cent, but support for independence has grown.'

Pushed on whether she would still push for a referendum in the next couple of years even though surveys suggested it would be lost, Ms Sturgeon insisted: 'Yes I am going to push for another independence referendum.'