The next Tory leader "won't keep the Union safe" by following Boris Johnson's blunt refusal to allow an IndyRef2, the country's top pollster has said.
Professor John Curtice claimed whoever enters Downing Street next month would be better off trying to persuade Scots of the benefits of remaining in the UK.
Liz Truss is the clear favourite to become the next Prime Minister and is expected to see off a challenge from fellow Tory MP Rishi Sunak.
But she has faced a backlash from the SNP and some Conservatives after claiming the best way to deal with Nicola Sturgeon is to "ignore her".
Curtice, a politics expert at Strathclyde University, told the Record that Unionists were "kicking the can down the road" on the question of whether a second referendum on independence could take place.
It comes as Truss and Sunak prepare to speak at a Tory party hustings in Perth next week where the issue of IndyRef2 is expected to dominate.
Curtice said: "Truss's tactics seem to be to basically carry on with the Johnson line - keep on kicking the can down the road by saying now is not the time for a referendum, you had one eight years ago.
"Sunak has shown perhaps some indication that he might be willing to engage in the Union debate. My own view is that if Unionists have any sense, they will get involved.
"Whatever happens, whether we have a referendum or not, Nicola Sturgeon is going to spend the next 12 months trying to increase the level of support for independence.
"If you want to make the Union safe, by far and away the best thing to do, is to actually make the case for the Union and persuade people.
"The reason the Union is in trouble is because, at the moment, only half the people in Scotland want to stay inside it.
"If you can change that fundamental, the Union will be safe. But so long as you don't change that, it won't be.
"I would submit that the attempt in the last two years to simply argue about process has not got the Unionists anywhere."
Truss was branded "cack handed" by the SNP last week after she branded the First Minister an "attention seeker".
The Tory MP was speaking at a party event when she was asked about the Scottish Government plan to hold a second referendum in October next year.
She said: "I think the best thing to do with Nicola Sturgeon is ignore her. She’s an attention seeker, that’s what she is."
Truss has previously claimed she would not consent to an IndyRef2 if she does become PM.
Curtice added it was "not immediately obvious" the Conservatives would enjoy a significant boost in the polls when a new leader was finally appointed on September 5.
"We are still looking at a seven point Labour lead but there has been some recovery during in the Tory leadership itself - but it's really a recovery from the damage done by the way Johnson was brought down," he said.
"Beyond that, it's not immediately obvious that is going to have the kind of impact that Johnson's succession to the Premiership had back in 2019."
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