Scottish “loathing” for Boris Johnson has facilitated a rise in support for independence among voters, according to pollster JL Partners.
In a poll carried out recently, the polling group found that 56% of Scots would now opt for Scotland to chart its own course in the world as an independent nation, while 44% said they opposed such a move. The polling also revealed that BoJo is even less liked among Scots than his predecessors Theresa May and David Cameron.
NEW: J.L Partners poll of 1,016 Scottish voters in @politico
— J.L. Partners (@JLPartnersPolls) October 30, 2020
Independence referendum vote (don’t knows removed)
YES 56%
NO 44%https://t.co/4VXBUmsxlp
Tables available later today at https://t.co/BozWy47mBb
The study was carried out among 1,016 people and found that, of all the reasons for supporting independence, an overwhelming 79% agreed with the statement that “Boris Johnson is not the leader I want to have for my country.”
One of those who oversaw the poll, James Johnson, has been quoted elsewhere as saying that, “in focus he [Johnson] is not just criticised in the way David Cameron and Theresa May were, but loathed.”
“It is hard not to look at these figures and assume the Union is doomed. It is certainly the gravest situation the Unionist cause has found itself in in recent history,” Mr Johnson added.
Out of all Conservative party leaders, the poll reveals that former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson and the Chancellor Rishi Sunak are the most liked. Interestingly, Mr Sunak rates higher in popularity among Scots than Labour Party leader Kier Starmer and even the Queen.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party [SNP] who also led the pro-independence campaign in 2014, was quick to celebrate the result on Twitter, saying that its finding were “well worth a study.”
The Indy support findings (56% 😊) in this poll will grab the headlines, but it is a treasure trove of info on the attitudes that underpin that support - what people think of @scotgov / @UKGovScotland, different parties and a variety of issues. Well worth a study. https://t.co/Lo5byFChMI
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) October 30, 2020
Ms. Sturgeon has said that she plans to include a pledge on holding a second Scottish Independence referendum in the SNP’s manifesto to be released next May.
However, despite the good news for pro-independence campaigners, Ms. Sturgeon must receive the go ahead from London to hold any second referendum, an idea that Boris Johnson’s government has repeatedly balked at. As recently as earlier this month, the Prime Minister said that only six years had passed since the last vote on Scotland’s future, and that to hold another one would not match the “once in a generation” promise made by the SNP in 2014.
“We had a referendum in 2014, we were told it was a once in a generation event, by the leaders of the Scottish Nationalist Party, and six years, it doesn’t seem to me, is a generation,” the Prime Minister said.
