Only third of voters want indyref within two years

Only one third of Scots want a referendum on independence to take place within the next two years, according to a poll for The Economist.

The result of such a vote remains on a knife-edge, however, with 51 per cent backing the Union and 49 per cent supporting independence.

The Scottish Government hopes to hold a referendum by the end of 2023, with a fresh bill to legislate for the vote to be introduced to the Scottish Parliament shortly.

Meanwhile the SNP and their partners in government, the Scottish Greens, are to publish a joint prospectus on independence in the coming months.

The UK Government has repeatedly said it will not grant the powers to allow a referendum to be held.

There is a pro-independence majority at the Sottish Parliament, but any attempt to pass a referendum bill could result in a legal battle between the two governments at the Supreme Court.

Speaking to the BBC in January, Nicola Sturgeon insisted her government would push ahead with the plan regardless.

She said: “That's the proposition, that just short of a year ago, I fought an election on and was reelected as First Minister. This is about democracy. It's about allowing the people of Scotland to choose our own future.”

The poll from The Economist found a third of Scots felt it would be wrong for the Supreme Court to decided whether a referendum can take place.

It also found that the majority of voters were certain about how they would vote in a future referendum.

Asked on a scale of zero (not certain at all) to ten (absolutely certain) about how they would vote, only ten per cent gave a score of less than six.