Support for Scottish independence rose to 56%, an Ipsos poll showed on Wednesday, two weeks after Britain’s Supreme Court blocked the Edinburgh government’s bid to hold a new independence referendum next year, Reuters reported, citing Agerpres.

The poll of 1,065 16-year-olds across Scotland found support for independence increased by six percentage points compared to the previous poll in May.

Leaving out the undecided, only 44% of respondents were in favor of remaining in the UK.

According to the same poll, the Scottish National Party (SNP), led by Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon, will win more than half of the vote in the next election, expected in 2024. Nicola Sturgeon has promised to run only if the question of Scottish independence is raised, making the vote a “de facto” referendum.

The poll showed “increasing support for both independence and the SNP”, commented Emily Gray, director of Ipsos Scotland.

“Whether this is a temporary boost after the recent Supreme Court decision or a long-term trend remains to be seen,” she added.

After a referendum in 2014, the people of Scotland voted 55% to 45% to reject the end of more than 300 years of union with England.

However, calls for independence received a boost after the 52%-48% vote for Brexit two years later, a decision opposed by the majority of Scots.

Until recently, polls suggested that Scots were evenly split on independence and that the referendum result would be too close to be decisive.

Will there be another referendum?

Support for independence briefly hit a record high of 58% in 2020 as the Edinburgh government gained widespread support for its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Earlier this year, the SNP announced its intention to hold an advisory vote on secession in October 2023, but indicated that it would have to be legal and internationally recognised.

The government in London has repeatedly said it will not agree to another plebiscite and that the independence vote should be a once-in-a-generation event.

On November 23, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the decision to call a referendum cannot be made without the consent of the British Parliament.

Scottish nationalists said the Court’s ruling underlined the need for Edinburgh to break away from London’s rule and that they were trapped in a political union with no path to self-determination under international law.

According to electoral intentions expressed in an Ipsos poll, the SNP will win 58 seats at the next general election, Scottish Labor will only get one seat, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives and other parties will win no Scottish seats in the House of Representatives. community

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