Scottish Independence Sees a Sudden Surge in Support: Sept 18 Vote To Be Crucial For UK
With hardly two weeks left for Scotland's vote (Sept 18) to decide whether they want to break up from Britain or remain within the Union, a new poll has shown a surprisingly high support for Scottish independence.
The pro- independence supporters surged to 47 per cent in August. It was a groundswell in favour of the Yes vote, reported AFP.
The new poll indicates the need to think about a United Kingdom that is without Scotland. The poll was conducted by YouGov and showed the lead of unionist or anti-independence advocates shrunk to 6 percentage points from 22 a month ago.
For many months, a slew of polls had been showing Scottish nationalists heading for a defeat in the vote. But the YouGov poll has reversed the scenario, with the probability hiked more towards the prospect of secessionists achieving the goal of breaking the 307-year-old union with England.
Yes Vote a Real Possibility
YouGov President Peter Kellner is a respected pollster. He said a "Yes" victory may be a possibility and a close finish looks very likely. He noted that the polls had shown varying levels of support for the unionist campaign. But none had shown the independence camp with an overwhelming lead.
The sudden surge also electrified Britain's political class. Any vote for independence will have to be followed up by negotiations with London to decide on the fate of sterling, the national debt, North Sea oil and Britain's nuclear submarine base.
Political Repercussions
The Scots vote for independence will have lot of rumblings in the United Kingdom. Prime Minister David Cameron will be called upon to resign ahead of a national election in May 2015. The Labour's chances of a majority could suffer as most of its lawmakers are from Scotland. Of late, the supporters of Labour Party have gravitated towards the pro-independence movement.
Yes Vote Opportunity
Scottish nationalists consider the poll that came a week after pro-independence leader Alex Salmond won a television debate, as a shot in the arm for the Yes campaign.
According to Blair Jenkins, head of the Independence campaign team, it is heartening that more and more people are beginning to realise that a "Yes" vote is Scotland's opportunity to make its enormous wealth work better for everybody who lives and works there.