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With the latest polls placing support for Scottish independence at 54 percent and 46 percent in support of the union, there are growing fears that another referendum could be on its way. Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair told Times Radio that he was certainly “worried” for the fate of the union because of the unstable situations in both Scotland and Northern Ireland. However, Mr Blair reminded listeners that the case against the SNP for Scotland remaining in the UK was still “incredibly strong”.

He said: “I’m worried about it, you’d have to be.

“There’s going to be an issue in Northern Ireland because it’s going to be in a different trading system from the rest of the UK.

“I’m worried about Scotland because the nationalists have got the wind in their sails at the moment.

“On the other hand, the case for Scotland remaining part of the UK is still incredibly strong.”

Mr Blair added: “Remember that the amount of trade that Scotland does with England is infinitely greater than anything else.

“But it’s a risk and we’re going to have to work hard to keep the union together.”

The SNP are predicted to win over 53 percent of the constituency vote in the upcoming 2021 Holyrood election.

Leader Nicola Sturgeon is expected to use her additional nine seats in the Scottish Parliament to force Boris Johnson to grant a second independence referendum.

The First Minister insists that the UK Government would not be able to disregard a clear electoral mandate.

Support for independence has been polling consistently above 50 percent in many studies over the past six months.

Ms Sturgeon already had an earlier call for a referendum formally rejected by Mr Johnson following the December 2019 general election.

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The SNP scored a victory where they gained 13 seats to hold 48 of the 59 Scottish battlegrounds.

However, the Prime Minister formally rejected a call from Ms Sturgeon for a second independence referendum.

Mr Johnson said a new vote would “continue the political stagnation Scotland has seen for the past decade”.

He cited the First Minister’s previous pledge that the 2014 referendum would be a “once in a generation” vote.

Ms Sturgeon claimed that the Tories were attempting to “deny democracy”.

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