The campaign to save the United Kingdom holds a four-point lead in the Scottish independence referendum, according to the latest poll published tonight.
The YouGov poll puts the No side on 52 percentage points – up three points since a poll published last Saturday, while the Yes side is at 48 points, down three points.
The poll was carried out before the wave of warnings from business leaders over the last two days about the possible effects of Scottish independence.
RBS has said it will consider shifting its registered office to London, while TSB and Lloyds would consider moving operations south – but no jobs are threatened in Scotland.
The figures tonight mark a reversal for the Yes side in YouGov’s numbers: 10 days ago it reported that the No lead had fallen to six points, while last Saturday Yes edged it by two.
Scare tactics
Following another bitter day in the debate, Scottish deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon urged voters to reject “scare tactics” orchestrated by British prime minister
David Cameron
.
“You can choose to be intimidated, or you can take control of your own country,” she told a BBC-organised debate before more than 1,000 young Scots tonight.
Next week’s referendum will be decided by the largest number of people ever registered in the country for any ballot. A total of 4,285,323 people are now registered to vote, including 165,000 people who have come onto the electoral roll since March.
Both sides expect an unprecedented turnout next Thursday, with some forecasts predicting that more than eight out of every 10 people will cast a ballot. Nearly 6,000 polling stations will be open.
However, the debate is becoming increasingly ill-tempered, with Scottish first minister Alex Salmond rounding on the BBC for reporting that the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) would transfer its registered office to London if Scotland votes Yes.The transfer would have no impact on Scottish banking jobs, or on tax revenues, he said – a point accepted by RBS chief executive Ross McEwen.
Mr Salmond demanded an inquiry into the story, claiming that the treasury in London had leaked information in a bid to damage Scotland’s financial institutions.
Confrontation
His remarks, particularly in a confrontation with BBC political editor
Nick Robinson
, were applauded by party supporters who had been brought to a carefully organised press conference in Edinburgh.
The day saw further warning from business about the supposed dangers of Scottish independence, with supermarket Asda warning of higher prices. Urging a No vote, the company’s chief executive, Andy Clarke, said Asda’s operations would “inevitably” become complex if Scotland separates, and that would be reflected in costs.
Meanwhile, retailer John Lewis’s chairman, Sir Charles Mayfield, warned that a Yes vote could lead to higher prices.
“It does cost more money to trade in parts of Scotland, and therefore those hard costs, in the event of a Yes vote, are more likely to be passed on,” he said.
