John Swinney hails 'indy generation' as poll shows young Scots strongly back Yes

JOHN Swinney has said that the “independence generation” of young Scots could lead the country out of the Union after a poll showed huge support among under-35s.

The First Minister spoke to The Sunday Times as a poll conducted for that paper by Opinium found that Scots narrowly support remaining in the Union – by 47% to 45%, with 8% undecided.

However, asked how they would vote in a second independence referendum, 63% of voters aged 35 or younger said they would support breaking away from the UK, while just 25% said the opposite.

Older age groups all supported the Union. Among those aged 36-49, 47% backed No while 44% backed Yes. For those aged 50-64, it was 54% against 42%, and for people aged 65 or older, 63% support the Union while 32% support independence.

However, asked if the Scottish parliament should have the power to hold independence referendums without Westminster’s consent – a move deemed illegal by the UK Supreme Court – 49% of people said it should. Only 37% of Scots said the power should be reserved to the London parliament.

Swinney told The Sunday Times that the figures from the poll showed the young “independence generation” would influence Scotland moving forward.

“That independence generation, that independence-supporting generation, is going to be more influential in our society and will have the opportunity to exercise much more input into the thinking of our country,” the SNP leader said.

“So, that makes me very optimistic, that is part of my hopefulness about what lies ahead.

“That group of young people, those 600,000 that are now eligible to vote – by 2030 it will be a million young people who will not have voted in 2014 but will be eligible to vote – that’s the hopefulness of the independence generation winning this argument.”

First Minister John Swinney spoke about a new poll on independence (Image: PA) Swinney was also asked if his three predecessors as SNP leader – Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon, and Humza Yousaf – were helping or hindering the cause of independence.

“I think I’ll just talk about my leadership and what lies ahead,” Swinney said.

The First Minister further said the SNP needed to “engage with the public about the issues that are on their minds, to convince them of the merits and the arguments for independence”.

He went on: “We’ve got to build confidence in what we are doing and how we are leading Scotland and that is a fundamental part of why my party has asked me to lead it, because I can convey that to people, that sense of serious and focused government in meeting the needs of the public within Scotland.”

For their independence poll, Opinium interviewed 1028 Scots aged 16 or older from September 5-11.