Losing the youth vote, Nicola? Sturgeon tries to convince reluctant five-year-old to pose for a selfie with her as departing First Minister enters last two weeks in office after new poll shows 54 per cent would say ‘No’ to Scottish independence

• New poll shows 54% of Scots would back ‘No’ at an independence referendum
• Nicola Sturgeon enters last fortnight in office and makes visit to group of carers
• She apparently struggles to convince Jaxon, aged 5, to take a selfie with her 

Support for Scottish independence is continuing to lag behind support for remaining in the UK in the wake of Nicola Sturgeon’s downfall, a new poll has shown.

A YouGov survey for Sky News revealed 54 per cent of Scottish voters would back ‘No’ at an independence referendum, compared to 46 per cent who would vote ‘Yes’.

The poll also revealed that more than half of Scots (52 per cent) thought Scotland would probably still be part of the UK in 10 years time.

This compared to less than one-third (30 per cent) who thought the country would probably be independent in a decade.

The poll is the latest sign that the Scottish independence campaign has suffered a hit amid Ms Sturgeon’s fall from power.

Nicola Sturgeon was pictured apparently struggling to convince Jaxon, aged 5, to take a selfie with her on a visit to the Big Hearts Community Trust at Tynecastle Park in Edinburgh

The departing First Minister’s visit came on the same day that voting officially opened in the SNP leadership contest to choose her replacement

A YouGov survey for Sky News revealed 54 per cent of Scottish voters would back ‘No’ at an independence referendum, compared to 46 per cent who would vote ‘Yes’

The departing First Minister announced her shock resignation last month.

It came at a time when she was facing bitter SNP infighting over the party’s independence strategy and after a furious row over her gender identity reforms.

Ms Sturgeon is set to officially leave office in a fortnight’s time when her successor as SNP leader is announced.

She met with a group of kinship carers this morning at an annual big breakfast hosted by the Big Hearts Community Trust at Tynecastle Park in Edinburgh.

The First Minister was pictured apparently struggling to convince Jaxon, aged 5, to take a selfie with her.

Her visit came on the same day that voting officially opened in the SNP leadership contest to choose her replacement.

Ballot papers are being sent out to tens of thousands of SNP members for them to choose between rivals Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan.

Members will have two weeks to make their choice – after voting opened at noon – with the ballot closing on 27 March.

The SNP’s new leader and Ms Sturgeon’s successor will then be announced shortly after.

Ballot papers are being sent out to tens of thousands of SNP members for them to choose between rivals Humza Yousaf (left), Kate Forbes (right) and Ash Regan (middle)

The opening of the membership ballot comes ahead of tonight’s latest live TV debate between the leadership rivals.

The third televised showdown between Mr Yousaf, Ms Forbes and Ms Regan, being held in Edinburgh, will be broadcast on Sky News from 7pm.

The previous two debates have been marked by bitter clashes between the contenders, which has drawn comparisons to a ‘circular firing squad’.

Mr Yousaf has seen his ministerial record panned by Ms Forbes, who has also suggested he should be sacked from his current role as Health Secretary due to Scotland’s NHS crisis.

In last Tuesday’s first TV debate, Ms Forbes told Mr Yousaf: ‘You were a transport minister and the trains were never on time.

‘When you were justice secretary the police were stretched to breaking point.

‘And now as health minister we’ve got record high waiting times – what makes you think you can do a better job as first minister?’

The Scottish Tories today wrote to Ms Forbes to ask for permission to use footage of her ‘scathing judgment’ on the SNP’s record in their next party political broadcast.

‘Unfortunately, until you broke ranks, nobody in your party was willing to accept that the SNP Government that you are a part of has been a disaster for Scotland’s public services,’ they said.

‘We admire your truthful assessment so much that we would be pleased to feature it in our next Party Political Broadcast on the BBC and STV.

‘We think your scathing judgement deserves to be seen by every voter in Scotland, as often as possible.

‘Since your criticism of the SNP’s record was delivered with such enthusiasm, we assume that won’t be a problem, but we thought it best to give you a heads up anyway.’

The YouGov poll revealed that 27 per cent of Scottish voters thought Ms Forbes would be a good first minister, compared to 36 per cent who thought she would be bad.

Less than a quarter (22 per cent) thought Mr Yousaf would be a good first minister compared to 44 per cent who thought he would be bad.

Less than one-fifth (14 per cent) thought Ms Regan would be a good first minister compared to 39 per cent who thought she would be bad.

YouGov surveyed 1,002 adults in Scotland (16+) between 9 and 13 March. 

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