Scottish Nationalists on course for election landslide as support for independence grows — poll

The Scottish Nationalist Party is on course to make major gains in next month’s UK election amid a surge in support for independence, a new poll has found.

Brexit has once again brought independence to the fore in Scotland and support for the movement now stands at 50 percent in the UK country, according to an Ipsos MORI survey for STV published on Thursday.

The poll predicts that the SNP is set to hoover up a massive 44 percent of the vote share in the December 12 election, meaning Nicola Sturgeon’s party could gain an additional 13 seats.

It gives the SNP an 18 point lead over the Conservatives and a staggering 28 point lead over the Labour Party. If the snapshot is borne out on polling day the Tories would drop from 13 seats to six and Labour would be left with just one.

The fieldwork for the survey was carried out over the course of last week. On the independence question, 48 percent of Scots said they would vote Yes if an independence referendum was held tomorrow, and 48 percent said they would vote No. The remaining four percent were unsure of how they would cast their ballot. When the undecided voters were stripped out the result was a dead heat, 50-50 split.

Independence was rejected by Scottish voters in a 2014 referendum. However, that result came before the UK voted to leave the European Union. Scotland voted overwhelmingly against Brexit and Scots feel that the UK leaving the bloc warrants a rerun of the independence vote.

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