SCOTS believe that pro-Yes parties winning a Holyrood majority constitutes a mandate for independence, an exclusive poll for The National has found.
Some 52% of people said that independence-supporting parties winning the most Scottish Parliament seats should allow a second constitutional poll with 48% opposed, excluding those who said they did not know.
With “don’t knows” included, those who believe a pro-Yes majority should be considered a mandate had 40% backing, compared with 37% opposed and 23% who said they did not know.
The SNP have ruled out taking a majority of MSPs in favour of independence as a mandate for a referendum and have set out an alternative stance.
Party leader John Swinney has said that a majority of SNP MSPs being elected should constitute a mandate.
Pro-independence critics of the SNP said our poll, which saw Find Out Now survey a sample of 1282 people, showed the First Minister had set the bar for a mandate too high.
Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay (below) said: “The election of a pro-independence majority of MSPs is a clear mandate for Scotland to choose our own future.
“So much has changed since 2014 and so many of the promises that were made by Labour and Tory politicians have fallen apart. Whether it is a Brexit that has hammered our economy and cost jobs or a Labour government that promised change and let people down on every level.
“The best people to shape Scotland's future are the people who live here. That is how we can ensure that we have Scottish solutions rather than having them imposed.
“If the will of the people is not a mandate, then what is?”
Alba’s deputy leader Neale Hanvey added: “The First Minister’s proposed strategy, which requires an SNP majority to advance the cause of independence, is designed to boost the SNP vote, not to deliver independence. It’s also clear from polling that votes cast on the regional list for the SNP will only aid unionist parties. This poll shows most Scots think the bar he’s set is too high.
“Alba’s position is clear. A mandate for independence is obtained through a majority of votes cast for independence-supporting parties that have set out that commitment in their manifestos. This approach makes the basis of the campaign clear, gives it legitimacy, and inspires both members and the wider public.
“That is what the SNP should do, as increasing numbers of their members do not want independence downplayed or made unachievable by setting an unrealistic threshold.”
Keith Brown (below), deputy leader of the SNP, defended his party’s stance and said that it was the standard which had facilitated the first vote in 2014.
He told The National: “Scotland’s right to decide our own future must be respected and recent history tells us that a majority for the SNP leads to a referendum.
“By winning an SNP majority Scotland will be telling the world that no-one, least of all Keir Starmer, can stand in the way of the sovereign people of Scotland from exercising their right to self determination and their opportunity to choose a better future.”
The UK Government has repeatedly ruled out granting Scotland a second referendum on independence.
