Majority of Scottish voters feel ignored by UK ministers on Brexit

Almost two-thirds of Scottish voters believe the Westminster government is ignoring their concerns during Brexit negotiations, and there is now more support in Scotland for remaining in the EU than at the time of the 2016 referendum, polling suggests.

According to research for the People’s Vote campaign, 66% of Scottish voters (excluding don’t knows) support staying in the EU, compared with 62% who voted for remain in the referendum.

The YouGov poll of 2,013 adults in Scotland, conducted in early August, also found that 48% wanted a public vote on the outcome of Brexit negotiations, compared with 45% across the whole of the UK.

About 600 people are expected to attend a rally in Edinburgh on Saturday in support of another vote on Brexit, as part of a summer of action coordinated by the People’s Vote campaign.

Among Scottish National party supporters, 83% wanted to stay in the EU, 66% backed a people’s vote on Brexit and 18% opposed a people’s vote.

Labour supporters in Scotland favoured remain by 74% to 26% and a people’s vote by 64% to 21%.

The majority of Scottish Labour voters wanted the party’s UKleader, Jeremy Corbyn, to shift his stance on Brexit, with 44% saying he should oppose Brexit more strongly, 22% saying he should support Brexit more strongly, and 11% saying he had the balance “about right”.

In contrast, 29% of SNP supporters wanted their party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, to oppose Brexit more strongly, 13% wanted her to support Brexit more strongly and 45% believed she had got the balance right.

Among all Scottish voters, 43% felt Brexit would make Scottish independence more likely within the next decade.

Peter Kellner, a polling expert and former president of YouGov, said: “Support for a public vote on the outcome is growing across the UK but is particularly strong in Scotland where most people did not want to leave in the first place. There is deep pessimism about what Brexit will mean for Scotland and the next generation.

“But the survey suggests the leaderships of both the SNP and the Labour party are in the wrong place with most of their supporters. There may be an electoral dividend in Scotland for one of these parties if they strengthen their position.”