Voters in Scotland would oppose independence in a second referendum by 57 per cent to 43 per cent, according to a new poll.
The latest Panelbase poll for The Sunday Times Scotland found the figures unchanged from their previous survey six months ago.
Researchers questioned 1,037 people in Scotland and found support for the SNP has fallen among voters, at both Holyrood and Westminster.
Asked about their Westminster voting intentions, 36 per cent said they would vote SNP, down 5 per cent from the previous poll in September 2017.
Revealed: SNP's new blueprint for independence
The Conservatives took second placf on 28 per cent (+1%), with Labour on 27 per cnet (+3%) and the Liberal Democrats and Greens unchanged on 6 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.
The survey predicts the SNP would remain the biggest party at Holyrood in the next election, with 40 per cent of respondents planning to vote for the party, a 2 per cent drop from the previous poll.
The Tories, Labour and Lib Dems remain unchanged on 28%, 22% and 6% while support for the Greens rose 1%, to 3%.
Regarding the timing of any further Scottish independence referendum, 58% do not want one in the next few years, 17% want one during Brexit negotiations and 25% when these are finished.
Iain Macwhirter: Why the future spells double trouble for Nicola Sturgeon
The number of people who expect Scotland to become independent in the next five to 10 years has dropped slightly, down 2% to 27%.
The number who do not expect independence at any point in the next few decades has also dropped 2% to 30%.
A total of 19% (-1%) envisage it happening in 10 or 15 years, while 11% (+1%) expect it to take 20 or 30 years.
Paul Hutcheon: Yes movement is heading for a rift on the economics of independence
Election expert professor Sir John Curtice told the newspaper: "Support remains high enough for the independence flame still to be burning, but not strongly enough for the SNP to contemplate another ballot any time soon."
He added: "Labour will be cheered by the three point increase in Westminster support since your last poll, but the 27% share is little different from other recent polls, and is simply in line with its 2017 vote. There is no sign of any [Richard] Leonard bounce."
He said if Nicola Sturgeon "looks to be cornered by the independence debate, Ruth Davidson is in an equally difficult position over Brexit."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel