SUPPORT for independence has risen three points, according to a newly reported poll.
A YouGov survey found that support for Yes was up to 42%, but a No vote was still slightly in the lead on 44% despite a one-point dip.
The last time the polling firm asked the question, in April, support for independence was on 39% against No on 45%.
Polling guru Professor John Curtice told the Times, where the poll was first reported: “Unionists would be making a mistake to assume that Labour’s rise and the SNP’s political troubles signal the death knell of the demand for independence.
"Support for Yes continues to run at just under 50 per cent, and most Yes voters still want a referendum at some point in the next five years. Whoever wins the next Westminster election will still have the future of the Union as a key item on their risk register.”
The YouGov survey also asked Scots for their views on politicians and how they would vote in a Holyrood and Westminster election.
It found that Humza Yousaf has seen a bounce in popularity with an 11-point rise, but remains firmly in the negative on -16.
The SNP would also remain Scotland’s largest party at Holyrood and Westminster, but Labour are gaining ground.
Holyrood
At Holyrood, a pro-independence majority of MSPs would be returned after an election, the YouGov poll predicted.
The SNP would remain the largest party but win 57 seats, down seven on the 2021 election. The Greens would return 10 MSPs, meaning a pro-Yes majority in the parliament of 129 seats.
Labour would have a strong result, returning 38 MSPs to become the second-largest party, while the Tories would be cut in half, winning just 16 seats instead of the 31 they managed in 2021.
The LibDems would win the final eight seats, with the poll predicting Alba would remain frozen out.
Westminster
The YouGov polling put the SNP on 36% in a Westminster election, just four points ahead of Labour on 32%.
Professor Curtice said this would translate to 22 seats for Labour and 26 for the SNP.
Despite each seeing two-point dips in overall support, the Tores and LibDems would not do terribly at a General Election, according to the poll. While the Conservatives would retain their six seats, the LibDems were projected to win five.
Curtice (above) told The Times: “Labour are now clearly breathing down the SNP’s neck in the battle for Scottish seats at the next UK General Election.
"But the foundations of Labour’s advance rest on the party’s success in advancing at the expense of the beleaguered Conservatives, not just in winning over Yes supporters from the SNP. Unfortunately for Mr Yousaf, that is a competition over which he has relatively little influence.”
Popularity
First Minister Yousaf saw his popularity rise by 11 points, but remain in the negative on -16.
Douglas Ross, the Scottish Tory leader, also saw a boost in his popularity, as it rose by eight points. However, he is still languishing on -36.
Scottish Labour's Anas Sarwar managed a positive approval rating of 4, up seven points.
YouGov polled 1086 Scots aged 16 or over between August 3 and 8.
