White Paper -Scotland’s future
The Herald -Scotland
Just 27% of Scots said that they supported independence in the days after the publication of the Scottish Government’s flagship White Paper, according to a new poll.
More than half of those questioned said that they wanted Scotland to remain within the United Kingdom, while another 17% said they did not know.
The results will come as little comfort to Scottish Government ministers, who staged a high-profile press conference to launch what they dubbed their “indy plan”.
The survey also found that 49% of respondents thought that their families would be worse off within an independent Scotland, while only 23% of people quizzed thought that the opposite would be the case.
Among women only 23% intended to vote Yes in the referendum to be held on September 18 2014, while 56% said that they would vote No.
The survey, by Progressive Scottish Opinion, talked to 1134 people in the days following the launch of the White Paper.
Last week First Minister Alex Salmond declared the 650-page document the “most comprehensive blueprint for an independent country ever published, not just for Scotland but for any prospective independent nation”.
The SNP leader also said that the White Paper would set out how his administration sought “independence as an end in itself, but rather as a means to changing Scotland for the better”.
Professor John Curtice of Strathclyde University said: “There can be little doubt the ‘yes’ side will be disappointed with this result as it does not show any evidence of any measurable swing in opinion.”
He added that one of the reasons that there appears to have been no short-term impact from the launch on public opinion is that the White Paper “has not immediately persuaded people they will be better off and this is crucial”.
The pro-independence Yes Scotland campaign said that its internal polling showed that more and more people were switching from being No voters to being undecided.
“A trend that we are finding more and more as the campaign progresses,” a spokesman for the organisation said.
The poll asked those surveyed the same question that will appear on the referendum ballot paper, “Should Scotland be an independent country?”
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Video: Scotland referendum: Explained in 60 seconds
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Video: SNP unveils White Paper outlining vision for independent Scotland
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Video: Scotland’s debate for independence -Nicola Sturgeon goes head to head with Alistair Carmichael aired November 27, 2013
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Scotland’s Future – executive summary
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Scotland’s Future – executive summary
Dilemma X 
December 3, 2013
Did you know?, International