Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Little Scotlanders Behind, but Gaining Ground in Independence Polls

Supporters of Scotland breaking away from the United Kingdom are making up some ground but with six months to go until the independence referendum, it is not enough, analysts say.

Armed with the slogan "Better Together", the three main London-based parties -- the Conservatives of Prime Minister David Cameron, their Liberal Democrat coalition partners, and the opposition Labour party -- have formed an improbable but resolute alliance to push the "no" vote.

British Prime Minister David Cameron engaged in a game of call my bluff by accepting to hold a referendum on September 18, convinced of being able to dash the separatist hopes of Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond.

In early March, 39.3 percent of voters were in the "yes" camp, 47.6 percent backed the "no" vote and 13.1 percent were undecided, according to the Survation polling group who surveyed 1,002 people.

"Winning from here for Alex Salmond would be an astonishing achievement," said Michael Marra from the University of Dundee, who helped run the poll.

John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, told AFP: "Something has happened -- not necessarily a great deal. The 'yes' side is quite a long way behind."

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