ONE FIFTH OF VOTERS ARE OPEN-MINDED OR UNDECIDED ABOUT SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE

30 - 03 - 2019 / Polling

ONE FIFTH OF VOTERS ARE OPEN-MINDED OR UNDECIDED ABOUT SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE

New polling and research organisation Progress Scotland has published the first findings from its inaugural large-scale opinion poll showing that one fifth of respondents have changed how they would vote on Scottish independence or their views have changed a bit and they are not sure about how they they would vote on Scottish independence.

FIRST ‘PROGRESS SCOTLAND’ POLL SHOWS SIGNIFICANT GROUP FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

More than 2,000 people took part in the poll conducted for Progress Scotland by Survation between 15th and 21st of March 2019

Thinking about how you voted in the referendum on in September 2014 and your views now, which of the following statements best describe what you think?

1. My views are the same as in 2014 and I would vote the same way in another referendum - 77%
2. My views have changed, and I would vote the other way in another referendum - 8%
3. My views have changed a bit, and I am now not sure how I would vote - 13%
4. I would not vote in another referendum - 2%

Base: Those who voted in 2014 referendum. Weighted total: 1655

Progress Scotland was recently set up to conduct research into the views of people who are open-minded or undecided about Scottish independence.

Independent pollster Mark Diffley who set the poll questions for Progress Scotland said:
“We are trying to better understand the views of people who are open-minded or undecided about Scottish independence.

“Some traditional polls which ask a binary Yes/No choice suggest that the number of undecided voters is insignificant. But this research highlights that many more are actively thinking about their views on independence, with 21% of respondents having already either changed how they would vote compared to 2014 or whose views have changed a bit and are not sure how they would now vote in another referendum”.

“We now look forward to doing further research to better understand these voters and their motivations. Results from our other polling questions already make clear that Brexit is the biggest single current factor, but there are others, and we will be looking closely at better understanding them.

The Managing Director of Progress Scotland Angus Robertson said:

“This research is hugely important to help understanding of undecided voters and those who are open-minded about Scottish independence. We have been able to commission this research through the generosity of thousands of people who are subscribing to Progress Scotland."

Further supporters of this research can help fund future polls and focus groups with a small monthly subscription or donation via the Progress Scotland website

Technical note
Total sample size: 2041
Methodology: People aged 16+ living in Scotland interviewed online.
Survey designed by Mark Diffley and data collected using the Survation panel in Scotland
Fieldwork dates: 15th - 21st March 2019
Weighting: Data are weighted to the profile of all people on Scotland 16+ - age, sex, region, 2017 general election vote, 2016 EU referendum vote and 2014 independence referendum
Polling data available here