Increased powers is the favoured option for Scotland's future

The majority of the Scottish public wants to see further powers given to the Scottish Parliament though the proposals put forward through Devo Plus are more popular than full independence. Those arguing for Devo Plus want Scotland to remain in the UK but with substantial new powers to the Holyrood Parliament. Our new poll for Reform Scotland reveals that, when asked about Scotland’s constitutional future in a single, three-option question, four-in-ten Scots back the Devo Plus proposals for more powers while remaining within the UK, while over a quarter (27%) back full independence and almost three-in-ten (29%) would prefer to retain the current settlement. Support for the Devo Plus is strongest among women (46%) and young adults (52% of those aged 18-24) but is also the most popular of the three options among all age groups. Further good news for those putting forward the Devo Plus proposals is that six-in-ten adults (61%) believe that the Scottish Parliament ‘should be responsible for raising most of the money’ that it spends, a central plank of their pitch.

Mark Diffley, Research Director at Ipsos said:

‘The results of this poll will add weight to the argument of those who think that a third option for Scotland’s constitutional future needs to be debated and, possibly, included in the referendum ballot when it happens. When we asked the public a straight question between independence and staying in the UK, we have 35% favouring independence and 55% favouring the status quo. However, when we introduce the Devo Plus option, support for both independence and the status quo falls and the third option becomes the most popular with the public. This shows that currently, the majority of Scots do favour constitutional change but are currently not in favour of full independence.’

• Download the survey topline (PDF)
• Download the full computer tables (PDF)

Technical Note

• Results are based on a survey of 1,003 respondents conducted by telephone between 7th June and 14th June 2012.
• Data are weighted by age, sex and working status using census data, and tenure using SHS 2007-2008 data, and by public-private sector employment by Scottish Government Quarterly Public Sector Series data
• An asterisk (*) indicates a percentage of less than 0.5% but greater than 0.
• Where results do not sum to 100, this may be due to multiple responses or computer rounding.
• Where the base size is less than 30 the number (N) rather than the percentage of respondents is given.