Scots cool to independence from Britain

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LONDON, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Support for an independent Scotland has fallen ahead of a referendum next year, a Daily Telegraph opinion poll published Tuesday indicated.

Alex Salmond, first minister of Scotland, wants to strengthen his minority leadership Scottish National Party and poll respondents indicated he could do so by dropping his demand that Scotland break away from Britain, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The survey's findings come as Salmond prepares to publish a series of reports about why Scotland should become an independent country.

"The findings show clearly that most Scots regard the idea of a referendum on Scottish independence as an irrelevant bore and that, if any such referendum were held in the near future, it would be overwhelmingly defeated," said Anthony King, professor of government at Essex University and developer of the YouGov survey questions.

When YouGov asked Scots how they would vote in a referendum on independence, 57 percent responded they would vote "no." Twenty-nine percent said they would vote for independence and 15 percent said they didn't know how they would vote.

The survey questioned 1,141 Scots between Wednesday and Friday.