20th November 2020 Comment
Elections, parties & leaders How Scotland should be governed
At first glance the Scottish Conservatives, who are meeting in virtual conference this weekend, can look forward to next year’s Scottish Parliament election with a fair degree of confidence. In polls conducted since September, the party has averaged 20% on the constituency vote and 19% on the regional vote. That is somewhat down on the […]
3rd November 2020 Comment
Expectations of constitutional change National identity and cultural issues Policy issues
The rise in support for independence is now well established in the polls. The trend first became apparent last year, when the level of support for Yes increased from around the 45% mark at which it had appeared to be stuck ever since the 2014 independence referendum to an average of 49%. This figure then […]
29th October 2020 Comment
Cross border attitudes Policy issues
It is often argued that Scotland is more left-wing than England. After all, the relative weakness of the Conservative party north of the border would seem a clear testament to that being the case. And the claim, which has often been made by SNP spokespersons, fits one of the key arguments that the party presents […]
20th October 2020 Comment
Elections, parties & leaders Expectations of constitutional change How Scotland should be governed Perceptions of government & the Union Policy issues
The last week or so has seen the publication of three further polls of attitudes towards Scotland’s constitutional status. Two of them, from Ipsos MORI (for STV News) and from Savanta ComRes, continued the gradual trickle of polls this year of how people would vote in another independence referendum. The third, from Survation (for the […]
12th August 2020 Comment
Elections, parties & leaders How Scotland should be governed The Scottish independence referendum
Until now, all of the evidence that there has been a further swing in favour of independence in recent months has come from just one pollster – Panelbase. In the absence of any other polling, it was not unreasonable to ask whether, perhaps, they might just possibly have got it wrong, though the reaction of […]
5th July 2020 Comment
Elections, parties & leaders How Scotland should be governed Policy issues
The latest Panelbase poll for The Sunday Times confirms the message of other polls that the company has undertaken in recent weeks for a variety of (pro-independence) clients. Support for independence has grown further, such that, if the polling is correct, Yes might will win any independence referendum that was held now. The poll puts […]
22nd May 2020 Comment
Elections, parties & leaders
The reverse suffered by the SNP in the election in June 2017 resulted in Nicola Sturgeon putting her plans to hold a second independence referendum on ice. In contrast, the recovery in the party’s position in the election last December encouraged the First Minister to claim that she now had a mandate to pursue another […]
5th April 2020 Comment
Elections, parties & leaders How Scotland should be governed Policy issues
The Alex Salmond trial was expected to make political waves. It may eventually do so. But as the trial progressed so the coronavirus pandemic came increasingly to dominate the country’s attention – and eventually bring the rhythms of everyday life, as well as its politics, to a halt. Still, we might be wondering what immediate […]
7th February 2020 Comment
How Scotland should be governed The Scottish independence referendum
Brexit day was greeted north of the border with as many as three polls of how people would vote in another independence referendum – one from YouGov, one from Survation, and one from Panelbase. Between them they appeared to confirm the already substantial evidence that the pursuit of Brexit is undermining popular support for the […]
17th January 2020 Comment
The Scottish independence referendum
The outcome of last month’s general election has paved the way for a constitutional confrontation between the UK and the Scottish Governments. The success of the Conservatives in winning an overall parliamentary majority of 80 has ensured that the UK will leave the EU at the end of this month. But equally, the success of […]
