Almost two-thirds of people have dismissed Alex Salmond’s plan for an independent Scotland as ‘not convincing’, according to damning new poll.
Pressure is mounting on the Scottish National Party leader amid signs his hopes of breaking away from the rest of the UK will be dashed by voters in next year’s referendum.
Opponents of independence have set the agenda with a series of interventions, including a warning that Scotland would not be able to use the pound if it voted to go it alone.
Mr Salmond and the pro-independence campaign are accused of being ‘dishonest and disorganised’ barely 18 months before voters decide on the future of the 300-year-old Union.
The latest opinion poll shows that 62 per cent of people surveyed think the SNP`s case for independence is either ‘not very convincing’ or ‘not convincing at all’.
Almost one in four who say they are unimpressed voted for the SNP in recent Scottish and UK parliamentary elections.
The poll, carried out by YouGov for Better Together campaign group which wants to keep Scotland in the UK, surveyed a total of 1,038 Scottish adults this week.
Just 11 per cent said the case for independence is ‘very convincing', while 19 per cent said it was ‘fairly convincing’.
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Better Together leader Alistair Darling said: ‘Whether on Europe, Nato, currency or pensions, the Nationalists have been exposed as being dishonest and disorganised on their preparations for independence.
‘The SNP have no answers on basic questions like which currency we would use or who would pay for our pensions. Their case is falling apart day by day.’
Chancellor George Osborne last week used a speech in Glasgow to warn an independent Scotland would end up 'like Panama' with no control over its currency
Today CBI director general John Cridland warned businesses on both sides of the border would suffer if Scotland broke away from the rest of the UK.
In a speech to the Scotch Whisky Association, he said: 'Our common laws and regulations make it more efficient to operate across the union, not to mention how they lay a strong foundation for us all to enjoy the benefits of our single market. We would all lose out if it were fragmented.'
Last week a devastating 118-page Treasury paper sets out the economic realities of independence.
Chancellor George Osborne warned Scotland could end up ‘like Panama’ if it gains independence but keeps the pound.
The Chancellor said it was ‘unlikely’ the rest of the UK would want to enter a currency union with a separate Scotland.
In the poll, voters were asked which three issues would be important in deciding how they vote in the referendum, which is to be held on September 18 next year.
Former chancellor Alistair Darling, who is leading the Better Together campaign, accused nationalists of being 'disorganised and dishonest' while Labour MSP Patricia Ferguson said voters do not trust Mr Salmond
The economy came top, chosen by 59 per cent of people. Tax and spending was named by 39 per cent, while 36 per cent said pensions and welfare, 30 per cent said health services and 22 per cent mentioned the currency.
A spokesman for Yes Scotland said: ‘The evidence is clear that Scotland would be more prosperous as an independent country with the means and the will to be a fairer country too.
‘We will continue to press the positive and optimistic case for an independent Scotland which we firmly believe will win the day on September 18 next year.
‘It makes sense for us to have the powers we need to match our priorities and aspirations while maintaining a strong social union with the rest of the UK.’
But Labour MSP Patricia Ferguson said the poll was a blow for the SNP. She said: ‘It reaffirms that Scots simply don't trust what they hear from Salmond and Sturgeon.
‘The SNP change their mind on the currency question more often than the weather changes. People are rightly questioning whether they're simply making it up as they go along.’