SCOTLAND will back independence if the UK leaves the EU, a new poll has suggested.

However, the Panelbase survey for the Sunday Times also said the appetite of Scots voters to back Yes at indyref2 would be severely diminished if Britain does not Brexit.

The poll of 1020 voters in Scotland between December 3 and 6 found 51%, would back independence if the UK leaves the EU, while 49% would vote against it.

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However, if the UK remains in the EU, a majority said they are against Scottish independence at 58%, with 42% in favour.

In general, support for independence has fallen, down 2% since November to 47% while support for Scotland saying in the UK has risen by the same amount to 53%.

The poll found 38% of voters currently back Nicola Sturgeon’s call for the next independence referendum to be held in 2020. Another 51% are opposed while 12% don’t know.

And if Boris Johnson returns to Downing Street next week, and refuses to grant Holyrood a Section 30 order devolving the powers necessary for Scotland to hold a legally watertight referendum, 47% of Scots voters say the SNP administration should accept that decision.

Some 29%, while, 14% favour trying to have the referendum anyway, while and 11% don’t know.

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The poll also revealed that the Tory vote is holding up. Johnson had been seen as an electoral liability by many in the Scottish wing of the party.

With Ruth Davidson having jettisoned the leadership in August, there had been an expectation that the Tories would haemorrhage support. But the latest voting intention has the SNP on 39%, down one point on last month, and the Tories on 29 points, up one point.

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That would give Sturgeon’s party 41 MPs, an increase of six on 2017’s result. It would see the Tories on 12, losing just one of their MPs.

Labour currently sit on 21% and the LibDems on 10%.

But that currently is important as the poll also asked voters if they had definitely made up their minds. Some 30% of people who currently plan to vote Labour said that they may yet change their mind while just 10% of SNP voters and 12% of Tory supporters said the same.

There’s also been a significant drop in the number registered for postal votes. It’s down nearly 44,500 votes from 772,601 to 728,148.

Writing in the paper, John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University said there were some very tight margins at play.

He said that if the swing to the SNP was just two or three points higher, the Tories might end up losing five of their seats: “The Conservatives and SNP look set for a tight and potentially crucial battle in the election on Thursday.”