The SNP is “within reach” of winning an outright majority at Thursday’s election, the latest survey of voting intentions has found.
The YouGov snapshot, which was published just hours before the final leaders' debate of the campaign, found Nicola Sturgeon’s party comfortably ahead of its rivals, while the Tories are in line for second place.
Polls have shown that a majority of pro-independence MSPs, including SNP and Greens representatives, will be returned later this week.
However, the question of whether the SNP will win 65 or more seats - the threshold for an overall majority - is in the balance.
YouGov’s poll in the constituencies puts the SNP at 52%, the Tories on 20%, Labour in third place on 19% and the Lib Dems on 6%.
On the regional vote, the SNP secured 38%, the Tories 22%, Labour 16%, Greens 13%, Lib Dems 5% and Alex Salmond’s Alba 3%.
The pollster did not provide a seats breakdown, but noted that the numbers showed the SNP on course for a majority:
“If repeated on Thursday, these figures would put the SNP within reach of securing an outright majority at Holyrood, the first time that has happened since 2011.
“The exact number of seats is hard to call as the final seat in many regional lists will be determined by very small margins and – like all polls – our figures come with a margin of error.
YouGov added: “If the SNP do fall short, our final call suggests a strong performance for the Scottish Greens, meaning a pro-independence majority is likely either way.”
