A POLL released today, while the eyes of the world were firmly on the US, has been the twelfth in an ever-growing line of results putting Yes voters in the majority.
The Survation poll gave independence voters an eight point lead over those favouring No, both before and after Don’t Knows were excluded.
READ MORE: Scottish independence supported by majority of Scots in twelfth poll running
Here are five other key things we learned from the Survation poll:
Politics:
The poll shows that a dominating, but perhaps unsurprising, 91% of those who voted for the SNP in last December’s General Election favour Scottish independence, when Don’t Knows are excluded.
Interestingly, it also shows that 25% of LibDem voters, 29% of Labour voters, and 10% of Conservative voters would say Yes if indyref2 were held tomorrow.
If Don’t Knows are included, this drops to 20% for the LibDems, 22% for Labour, and 83% for the SNP.
However, the Conservatives Yes vote changes little, from 10.2% to 9.5%.
Looking at how respondents voted in the 2014 referendum, we see that twice as many are moving from No to Yes as are moving in the opposite direction.
Exluding Don't Knows, 19% of those who voted No in 2014 would now vote Yes.
Of those who originally voted Yes, 10% would now vote No.
READ MORE: Douglas Ross set to take the Tories into third place at next Holyrood election
With Don’t Knows included, 82% of Yes voters in 2014 said they would vote Yes again tomorrow. This is 14 points higher than the 68% of No voters who would stick with their original decision.
Geographical differences:
Survation have divided their poll respondents into eight geographical Scottish regions. These are: Highlands and Islands, Mid Scotland and Fife, North East Scotland, Lothian, South Scotland, Glasgow, West Scotland, and Central Scotland.
With Don’t Knows excluded, only two of these areas have No voting majorities. South Scotland has a 50.7% No vote against 49.3% Yes, while West Scotland reports a 53.5% versus 46.5% lead for the Unionists.
Of the other six areas, Glasgow recorded the highest Yes vote, with 63% of Scotland’s biggest city favouring independence. Highlands and Islands were a close second, with 61.5% of Scots in that region voting Yes.
Age:
When Don’t Knows are excluded, the support for independence among the youth is nothing short of overwhelming.
Among those aged 16-24, 77% support an independent Scotland. For those aged 24-35 the support is even higher, on 79% Yes.
The pattern flips as the age groups get older, but not as strongly. In the over 65s category, 64% support remaining in the Union.
Over 55s also support the Union by 56.5% against 43.5%.
However, all other age groups are pro-independence, with 35-44s recording 57% for Yes, and 45-54s on 55%.
The gender gap:
There had long been a gap in support for independence between men and women. Men had historically been more likely to vote Yes. However, earlier this month Sir John Curtice noted that this seemed to be changing.
The latest poll confirms Curtice’s observation, with Yes being supported by 46% of men and 48% women when Don’t Knows are included.
READ MORE: 'Gender gap' in Scottish independence support disappearing in recent polls
However, men are less likely to be undecided than women. While 10% of men said they didn’t know how they would vote, 16% of women did.
If Don’t Knows are excluded, the female lead for Yes is even higher, with 57% of women supporting an independent Scotland, compared to 51% of men.
Income:
When Don’t Knows are excluded, the Yes voters are in the majority in every pay bracket in Scotland. However, the margin is much wider among those who earn less.
Among those whose household income is under £20,000 per year, 61% support an independent Scotland. For those who earn over £40,000, this is 52.5%.
The margin is tightest among middle earners who take home between £20,000 and £40,000 per year. Of those voters, 51% would vote Yes.
The poll asked 1071 people aged over 16 and living in Scotland: "If there was a referendum tomorrow with the question 'Should Scotland be an independent country?', how would you vote?".
It was conducted from October 28 to November 4, 2020.
You can view the full statistics from Survation here.
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