Poll: English and Welsh Would 'Economically Punish' Independent Scots

Poll: English and Welsh Would 'Economically Punish' Independent Scots

A majority of voters in England and Wales would oppose an independent Scotland using the Pound, despite acknowledging that such a decision would damage the Scottish economy.

In a poll by YouGov for the Sunday Times, 58 percent of English and Welsh voters say they do not support Scotland keeping the pound, even though 41 percent also respond that keeping the pound would be good for the Scottish economy.

Meanwhile, 70 percent of Scots would want to keep the pound, with just 18 percent opposed. 54 percent think it would be good for their economy.

This poll suggests that the English and Welsh are putting their own interests first, and would have little interest in helping out their Scottish counterparts. 43 percent think it would be bad for the economy of the remainder of the UK to have Scotland share the pound.

Keeping the Pound Sterling has become a major platform of Alex Salmond’s campaign for independence in September’s referendum. While he maintains that an independent Scotland would be able to negotiate a formal currency union with the remainder of the UK, all three of the main parties in Britain have ruled it out.

This poll, however, suggests they may not want to be so hasty if they want to keep the UK together. While 29 percent of voters in England and Wales think the decision of the three parties makes Scottish independence less likely (against 12 percent), 35 percent of Scottish voters think it makes independence more likely, compared to just 18 thinking otherwise.

Recent polls have seen support for independence fluctuate, with the gap between ‘yes’ and ‘no’ being as high as 20 percent and as low as 9 percent, but with the ‘no’ camp remaining in the lead. The pro-independence side have yet to take the lead in any poll.

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