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Poll Finds Support for Scottish Independence Falls


Britain's Queen Elizabeth meets with Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland July 1, 2014.
Britain's Queen Elizabeth meets with Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland July 1, 2014.

Support for Scottish independence has fallen, with Scots expressing growing concern about the potential economic impact of ending the 307-year-old union with England at a vote in September, according to a poll published on Tuesday.

A YouGov survey for the Times newspaper found that backing for the anti-independence campaign had risen by a point to 54 percent since a similar poll two weeks ago, with support for nationalists dipping to 35 percent.

Scots will vote in a Sept. 18 referendum over whether to end Scotland's union with London and split from the rest of the United Kingdom.

As the vote approaches, both sides have stepped up campaigns to argue the economic benefits or disadvantages that independence would bring.

If Scotland votes in favor of independence, Edinburgh would have to negotiate with London on a wide range of issues, from security to the status of the British pound in Scotland and division of assets, including energy reserves.

Nationalists maintain that, in the case of a “Yes” vote, the UK government would have to agree to some form of currency union.

The major British parties are campaigning for a “No” vote in favor of greater devolution of powers within the United Kingdom.

On the issue of the economy, the YouGov poll suggested the No campaign appeared to be winning the argument with 49 percent believing Scotland would be worse off under independence, up 4 points from three months ago.

Just 27 percent said that Scotland would be better off under independence, a drop of three points since March.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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