EDINBURGH, September 24 (RIA Novosti) - The number of those in favor of Welsh independence has fallen to record lows following the rejection of Scottish Independence, according to a poll carried out by BBC and ICM Research.
"Support for independence is the lowest I've seen anywhere," Professor Roger Scully of the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University was quoted as saying by BBC Wales on Wednesday.
The poll which questioned over 1,000 adults in Wales revealed only 3 percent of those surveyed supported Welsh independence. However some 49 percent of participants believed Wales should have more powers devolved to the Welsh Assembly while 12 percent wanted the assembly abolished entirely.
"UKIP's support is clearly going up," the professor said regarding the survey's questions regarding Westminster voting intentions.
"They are starting to reach the sort of level where they could make a serious difference in marginal seats," he added.
The UK Independence party (UKIP) led by Nigel Farage is currently at 14 percent, a seven point increase from BBC Wales poll in March. According to Scully's analysis of the data, UKIP support is still too low to win the party a seat in the House of Commons however could potentially impact other marginal constituencies.
The poll found the labor party to be down four points to 38 percent and predicted to gain two seats in the capital, Cardiff North and Cardiff Central in the general election scheduled for next May. Though Conservatives (23 percent) would lose Cardiff North, it would gain Brecon and Radnor while Plaid Cymru (13 percent) would hold on to their three seats. According to the poll, Liberal Democrats (7 percent) can expect to hold one Welsh seat at Westminster Ceredigion.
ICM Research interviewed a random sample of 1,006 Welsh adults across Wales aged 18 and up via telephone on from September 19 to 22. Results have been weighted to the profile of all adults.
