For the first time in two years a majority of Scots say that they would vote in favour of secession. The survey made public in early August was conducted by Michael Ashcroft Polls, the first such survey since March 2017 that shows so much support in Scotland for leaving the union.

A full 46% of the 1,019 voters polled said they would vote for independence; 43% said they would vote against. When the 11% of undecideds are taken out of the equation, then 52% are in favor of leaving. A majority also responded that it wanted a second referendum by 2021.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, an advocate of Scottish independence, said: “A broken Westminster system means Scotland is being dragged towards a no deal Brexit, regardless of the heavy price we’ll pay for lost jobs and lower living standards. That project is being led by Boris Johnson — a prime minister Scotland didn’t elect and who has no mandate to tear Scotland out of Europe with all the damage that will entail.”

This is the first time that Scottish independence is out on front since a 2017 Ipsos MORI survey. In that poll, among those likely to vote, exactly half said they would support independence while the other 50% of voters indicated they want Scotland to remain in the UK.

The 2019 poll also found that in Scotland 18% of those who voted against independence last time would vote for it in 2021.  Likewise, a majority of Scottish voters under 49 years of age said they would vote to break away, including nearly two-thirds of those between the ages of 18 to 24, according to the Ashcroft poll.

In the one referendum on the issue to date, in 2014 Scottish voters said no to independence: 55% for, 45% against.

In the Brexit vote, 62% of Scotish voters cast ballots to "remain" in the EU. A majority of voters in every locality in Scotland voted to stay in the Union.