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11/02/2024 03:34:07 pm

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Scotland Independence Referendum: Newest Polls Indicate a Tight Race on September 18

Scotland's referendum

(Photo : REUTERS/Paul Hackett) A bunch of 'Yes' balloons are seen during Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond campaign in Edinburgh, Scotland, September 10, 2014.

Just days ahead of Scotland's referendum for independence, four polls released Saturday indicate a mostly neck-and-neck fight between both sides of the independence debate.

Two of the newest polls released over the weekend indicate Scotland support for staying with Britain, while a third poll suggests the Scots' strong desire for independence. The fourth shows very tight results.

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Depending on the poll results, Scotland's bid for independence rely on the seven to 23 percent undecided voters who are yet to make up their mind, reported Sky News.

Pollster Opinium put the pro-union campaign 53 percent ahead of the 47 percent received by the pro-independence camp. The Survation poll, commissioned by the Better Together campaign, found similar results with supporters of pro-United Kingdom. It indicated their decision to stay with Britain leading at 54 percent against the separatists' 46 percent.

Meanwhile, the ICM Research indicates an opposite split, pegging the independence campaign at 54 percent versus the 46 percent received by those championing the pro-union cause.

John Curtice, a polling expert, noted that ICM's polls only pooled fewer people and should therefore be viewed with caution.

Another survey conducted by Panelbase showed pro-union leading the race by only a small margin: 51 percent against 49 percent for the separatists.

The pro-union have led the race for months, reported the Huffington Post. But last week's YouGov polls, which indicated a first-time lead for Scotland's independence campaign, had three of United Kingdom's major political leaders rushing off to Scotland to plead with the Scots to stay in the Union.

The latest polls came after serious concerns surfaced about the economic impact of Scotland's split from the United Kingdom.

David Folkerts-Landau, the leading economist at Deutsche Bank, warned earlier in the week that Scotland's secession would be a huge economic and political mistake, reported BBC.

He compared the potential negative impacts of Scotland's withdrawal to Winston Churchill's Great Depression.

But representatives of the Scottish government accused Folkerts-Landau of ignoring Scotland's solid fiscal position.

On Saturday, thousands of Scots from both sides of the referendum took to the streets to demonstrate their opposing opinions, reported BBC.

The Scotland referendum for independence is a movement that has been gaining massive public support for the last decade. Come September 18, the 4.2 million undecided voters will have to make last-minute decisions that determine UK's future, Sky News reported.

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