The majority of Scots oppose a single police force in Scotland

On the day the Scottish Government announced plans for a single national police force in Scotland, an Ipsos poll finds that the majority of Scots oppose the proposal. The poll reveals that over half (54%) of adults in Scotland oppose the proposal to combine Scotland’s current eight police forces into a single police force covering the whole country, while a third (34%) support the plans. Supporters of all political parties in Scotland are more likely to oppose than support the plans: Scottish Conservative (55% versus 33%); Scottish Labour (55% versus 36%); SNP (53% versus 34%); and Scottish Liberal Democrats (47% versus 41%).

Mark Diffley, Research Director at Ipsos commented:

‘As the new session of Parliament begins, the Scottish Government faces many challenges in its attempts to reform public services. It is clear from these results that the government is likely to face a tough job in persuading the public that proposed changes will be of benefit to them.'

 

• Download the survey tables (PDF)
• Download the survey slides (PDF)

Technical Note

• Results are based on a survey of 1,002 respondents conducted by telephone between 25th August and 29th August 2011.
• 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.