Comment

So What Should Be Done About The Vow? Public Opinion and More Devolution

30th September 2014

When the Edinburgh Agreement was signed in October 2012, the UK government declared that it would ensure that the independence referendum would be ‘legal, fair and decisive’. Although some supporters of the Yes camp may be doubtful that the referendum was entirely fair (pointing not least to what they perceive to be some biased media […]


YouGov Put No (Narrowly) Ahead Again

12th September 2014

The reporting of polls can sometimes be a curious affair. Only last week a poll from YouGov that put Yes on 47% and No on 53% (after Don’t Knows were excluded) was widely reported as a hammer blow for the No side. Today we have another poll from the same company that puts Yes slightly […]


Maybe Yes, Maybe No? New YouGov and Panelbase Polls

7th September 2014

Last Tuesday YouGov, hitherto a company that had painted a pessimistic picture of the Yes side’s prospects of winning on 18th September, generated considerable excitement by publishing a poll that showed an eight point swing from No to Yes in just a month. Today they have gone one better by being the first company in […]



Minding the gap – women’s views of independence in 2014

12th August 2014

As we enter the final weeks of the referendum campaign, persuading key groups of voters to back their case becomes ever more important to both the Yes Scotland and the Better Together campaign. Women are one such target group. In fact, some have suggested that women may ‘hold the key’  to the outcome of September’s vote. […]


Do Promises of More Devolution Matter?

18th June 2014

One of the major academic efforts to understand how voters behave in September’s referendum is being conducted as part of an enterprise known as the British Election Study (BES).  This study is now 50 years old; each election since 1964 has been graced by an in-depth survey of voters conducted after polling day, while in […]


Can Scotland and the Rest of the UK Get Along?

17th June 2014

Whatever the outcome of the referendum in September, Scotland and the rest of the UK are going to have to find ways of getting along. In the event of a Yes vote, then as envisaged by the SNP at least, an independent Scotland would continue to share a number of institutions with the rest of […]


More Movement to Yes? ICM and Panelbase Polls

15th June 2014

Following on from Survation’s poll for the Daily Record on Thursday, two further polls released today appear to provide further evidence that the tide may have begun to flow a bit further in the Yes side’s direction. First, in a poll commissioned by Yes Scotland, Panelbase put Yes on 43%, No on 46%, with 12% […]


Referendum Race Becalmed: No Change from TNS BMRB

11th June 2014

It has appeared to be the case for some time now that the referendum race has become becalmed once more. The Yes side appear to have maintained the gains they made in the winter, but without any consistent evidence of them having made any further subsequent progress. That message is underlined by the latest TNS […]


March ICM Poll Uncovers Worrying Underlying Trends for No

23rd March 2014

The latest monthly ICM poll for Scotland on Sunday, published today, will do little to smooth the worried brows in the No camp. Once again the message appears to be that the referendum race has become, from their perspective at least, all too close for comfort. The poll puts Yes on 39%, No on 46%. […]


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