|
 The number of people in the TNS poll saying they would vote "No"
to independence fell to 39 percent from 45 percent a month ago while
"Yes" support leapt to 38 percent from 32 percent.
"This poll reveals a remarkable shift in voting intentions," said
Tom Costley, head of TNS Scotland.
"It is too close to call and both sides will now be energized to
make the most of the last few days of the campaign and try and
persuade the undecided voters of the merits of their respective
campaigns."
The fate of the United Kingdom is in the balance after a YouGov poll
in the Sunday Times put the pro-independence camp slightly ahead for
the first time this year and led to a fall in the pound and British
share prices. [ID:nL5N0R92FF]
Sterling held near a 10-month low on Tuesday.[ID:nL5N0RA17K]The late
surge by the "Yes" campaign led by Alex Salmond's Scottish National
Party, the ruling party in Edinburgh, makes a break-up - long seen
as a pipedream - a distinct possibility.
In an attempt to turn the tide, Britain's most prominent politicians
rushed to offer Scots more powers, steps nationalists said betrayed
panic within the British elite.
 Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, a Scottish Labour
politician vilified by the ruling Conservatives for presiding over
the 2008 economic crisis, proposed a timetable for the devolution of
further powers to the Scottish Parliament.
Prime Minister David Cameron's job could be at risk if Scots voted
for independence in the Sept. 18 referendum. Odds on Cameron losing
his job were cut to 8/1 from 16/1 by Ladbrokes.
Following an independence vote, Britain and Scotland would face 18
months of negotiations over how to carve up everything from North
Sea oil and the pound to European Union membership and Britain's
main nuclear submarine base.
Cameron has been largely absent from the debate after conceding that
his privileged English background and center-right politics mean he
is not the best person to win over Scots, usually more left-wing
than the English.
That has left the opposition Labour party with much of the burden of
trying to convince Scots to stick with the union.
Polls show the "No" camp's lead evaporated in late August as many
traditionally unionist Labour voters switched towards backing
independence.
DISUNITED KINGDOM?
Speaking for the unionist campaign in a miners' welfare club in
central Midlothian on Monday evening, Brown said discussions over
further powers would begin the day after a "No" vote, with
legislation put before the British parliament by January 2015.
It would give the Scottish Parliament more power over welfare,
finance, social and economic policy, he said.
"This moves us as close to federalism as we can," said Brown, one of
the only British politicians that nationalist leader Salmond is said
to fear.
"Scotland is already a nation," Brown said. "We are proud of our
history and culture. Do we want to sever all constitutional links
with our friends, our neighbors, our relatives in England, Wales and
Northern Ireland?"
[to top of second column] |
The intervention by Brown, who remains popular in Scotland, was
welcomed by Britain's three main political parties and a source in
Cameron's office.
Speaking to reporters in Edinburgh, Salmond branded Brown's offer
"a-back-of-the-envelope non-plan" and said the unionist campaign was
falling apart ahead of next week's referendum. "There's actually
nothing new in this package whatsoever. This is a retreading, a
repackaging, a re-timetabling of what they said in the spring," he
told reporters in Edinburgh.
"This is a day the 'No' campaign finally fell apart."
Opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband called on people across the
United Kingdom to fly the white-on-blue Scottish Saltire flag as a
gesture of unity with the Scots.
"We want cities, towns and villages across the UK to fly the Saltire
and send a message to Scotland: stay with us," Miliband said in a
statement.
'TOO CLOSE TOO CALL'
The TNS poll of 990 people, carried out between Aug. 27 and Sept. 4,
found a surge in the number who said they were certain to vote to 84
percent. Among those certain to vote, "No" and "Yes" were tied on 41
percent compared with 46 percent and 38 percent respectively the
previous month.
Women - previously seen as cautious about independence - showed a
strong move towards a "Yes" vote. There was also an increased
likelihood to vote "Yes" amongst those aged under 55.
The proportion of undecided voters rose from 16 percent to 18
percent, implying that implied about 600,000 people intend to vote
but have not decided which way to go.
The independence question has provoked months of impassioned debate
in Scotland from boardrooms to street campaigns.
Proponents of independence say it is time for Scotland to run its
own affairs and choose its own leaders rather than be ruled from
London. An independent Scotland can use its North Sea oil revenue to
create a prosperous and fairer society instead of the British
government's welfare cuts, they say.
Advocates of staying in the union say the country is stronger as
part of a bigger entity and that going it alone would put it in a
precarious economic position.
(Writing by Angus MacSwan and Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Janet
Lawrence, Peter Graff and Paul Taylor)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
