A NEW poll has found that 57% of Scots think the country should have a referendum on independence.
Opinium conducted a survey amongst 1028 Scots aged 16 and over between September 5 and 11.
The figures showed that 24% of people wanted a referendum by the end of 2025, a further 18% by the end of 2030 while 32% don’t think another independence vote should ever be held.
The same research showed that 49% of people felt Scotland should be able to hold a referendum without needing the permission of the UK Government while 37% disagreed with this.
We previously told how Opinium data for The Sunday Times found that if a new vote was held tomorrow, the No side would only have a two-point lead.
When asked if Scotland should be an independent country, just under half (47%) would choose No while 45% would back Yes.
Almost one in 10 were undecided while younger voters were more likely to want independence, with 63% of 16 to 34-year-olds saying they would choose Yes while the same number of over 65s would vote No.
James Crouch, head of policy and public affairs at Opinium said: “Unionism retains only a narrow lead in the polls, as voters appear unenthused by the main arguments the No camp made against independence a decade ago.
"Despite this, there is relatively little policy-wise that Scots think would actually get better, and the ideal solution for most seems to be remaining in the Union.
"It is up to Unionists to put forward a positive vision for what an empowered Scotland within the UK looks like.”
Impact of Scottish independence
The poll also looked into what people felt the impact of Scottish independence would be, with 47% of people thinking tax rates would get worse.
Views were mixed on the potential economic impact, with 42% thinking the state of Scotland's economy would get worse, with 37% thinking it would get better.
Almost two in five (39%) think Scotland's environmental and climate issues would improve under an independent Scotland.
