Nicola Sturgeon on Scottish Independence in 2015

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While only a small majority – 51 percent – want Scotland to remain in the UK, one-third of voters don’t back Nicola Sturgeon’s timetable.

The poll, undertaken by Panelbase for the campaign group Scotland in Union, interviewed 1,040 people between August 31 and September 1.

More than half (52 per cent) said there should not be a referendum on Scottish independence in the next two years, while 38 per cent said they believed one should take place before the end of 2023.

A further 10 per cent were undecided.

The poll also found most voters were certain about how they would vote should a future referendum take place.

When asked on a scale of zero (not certain at all) to 10 (absolutely certain) about how they would vote, only 10 percent gave a score of less than six.

Pamela Nash, chief executive of the group, said the results showed Nicola Sturgeon was “out of touch” with Scottish people.

The Scottish Government hopes to hold a referendum before the end of 2023 but the UK Government has repeatedly said it will not grant the powers to allow a referendum to be held.

There is a pro-independence majority among Scottish MPs but any attempt to pass a referendum bill could result in a legal battle at the Supreme Court.

In January, Nicola Sturgeon told the BBC she still insisted her government would push ahead with the plan regardless.

She said: “That’s the proposition, that just short of a year ago, I fought an election on and was re-elected as First Minister. This is about democracy. It’s about allowing the people of Scotland to choose our own future.”

Not even a month later, though, Russia launched its long-feared “full-scale invasion” of Ukraine on February 24.

Ms Sturgeon, however, still hopes for an independence referendum next year.

In an interview with LBC, the First Minister was asked whether the current geopolitical situation had impacted her thinking on the referendum in 2023, she replied: “My plans and my thinking hasn’t changed.”

Her comments come after the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford cautioned those wanting immediate progress on a second vote on independence to be “mindful of where we are” given events elsewhere in the world.

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His remarks, during an interview with PA News, seemed to suggest the Scottish Government’s planned timetable for the poll could be delayed because of the conflict in Ukraine.

But when probed about the indyref2 timeline by LBC reporters, Ms Sturgeon said: “We, right now, should be reminded, above all else, how lucky we are to live in a free democracy where we can put forward our case for political constitutional change, argue that case passionately, whatever our views on that might be, and trust people to decide.

“I support independence for a whole variety of reasons, but one of the motivations for my support for independence is to see Scotland play a bigger role, albeit as a small country, in building a more peaceful world, to be a progressive, constructive international partner, to be a progressive country that welcomes refugees.

“And sees Scotland as a place of sanctuary, a country that sees the benefits we stand to gain from having people come here and make a contribution to our society. And, actually, all of these issues right now, I think are brought into sharp focus by the tragedy that is unfolding in Ukraine.”

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