Opinion Research Polls on the Union for the BBC

'The wrong response, as presented by Gordon Brown, is to bully Scotland into remaining part of the UK through fear of the economic consequences of going it alone.'
Annabel Goldie MSP, Scottish Tory leader, 16 th January 2007.

Data extracted from a BBC Opinion research poll

Opinion Research interviewed 883 adults in England, 543 in Scotland and 527 in Wales between 5 th and 8 th January 2007. The data were weighed according to the age, gender and geographic profile of each country

Q1 If the Union were to end, and the countries became independent, what do you think the financial impact, if any, would be on the following countries? Would they benefit financially or lose out?

a England

16 th January 2007	England	Scotland	Wales
Benefit	25 %	20 %	27 %
Lose Out	24 %	28 %	22 %
Make no difference	44 %	39 %	40 %
Don't know	6 %	13 %	11 %

b Scotland

16 th January 2007	England	Scotland	Wales
Benefit	17 %	31 %	18 %
Lose Out	43 %	37 %	38 %
Make no difference	33 %	21 %	30 %
Don't know	7 %	11 %	15 %

c Wales

16 th January 2007	England	Scotland	Wales
Benefit	9 %	14 %	14 %
Lose Out	51 %	39 %	49 %
Make no difference	31 %	32 %	25 %
Don't know	8 %	15 %	12 %

Q2 Scotland, England and wales have their own cultural identities that reflect unique characteristics, traditions and experiences. At the same time the three countries share many characteristics common to all British people. If the Union were to end what impact if any would it have on each country's cunture? Would the culture of the (English/Scottish/Welsh) people be enhanced, diminished or would it make no difference?

a England

16 th January 2007	England	Scotland	Wales
Enhanced	11 %	13 %	13 %
Diminished	10 %	6 %	10 %
Make no difference	76 %	71 %	66 %
Don't know	3 %	10 %	11 %

b Scotland

16 th January 2007	England	Scotland	Wales
Enhanced	27 %	25 %	29 %
Diminished	8 %	6 %	10 %
Make no difference	61 %	59 %	50 %
Don't know	4 %	10 %	10 %

c Wales

16 th January 2007	England	Scotland	Wales
Enhanced	27 %	22 %	33 %
Diminished	9 %	6 %	12 %
Make no difference	61 %	60 %	44 %
Don't know	4 %	11 %	10 %

Q3 Would you like the Union to continue as it is or would you like to see it come to an end? If it were to end this would mean that Scotland (in Wales say "Wales") became and independent country

16 th January 2007	England	Scotland	Wales
Prefer Union to continue as it is/has done	73 %	56 %	69 %
Prefer Union to end - Scotland/Wales to become independent	16 %	32 %	19 %
Don't mind either way/neutral	5 %	1 %	3 %
Don't know enough about it	1 %	1 %	2 %
No opinion	3 %	1 %	2 %
Don't know	2 %	8 %	6 %

Q4 Regardless of what you personally like to see happen to the Union between England, Wales and Scotland, how long down you think it will last?

16 th January 2007	England	Scotland	Wales
At least another 300 years	23 %	17 %	20 %
At least 100 but less than 300 years	18 %	15 %	18 %
At least 50 but less than 100 years	19 %	14 %	20 %
More than 10 but less than 50 years	20 %	20 %	20 %
No more than another 10 years	10 %	17 %	10 %
Don't know	9 %	16 %	12 %

Summary

16 th January 2007	England	Scotland	Wales
At least 100 years	41 %	33 %	38 %
At least 50 years	60 %	47 %	58 %
Less than 50 years	31 %	37 %	30 %

Q5 In 1998 the creation of a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly gave these countris certain powers that were previously held by the UK parliament in Westminster. Do you think that and English Parliament should now be established?

16 th January 2007	England	Scotland	Wales
Yes - should have an English Parliament	61 %	51 %	48 %
No - should not have an English Parliament	32 %	35 %	40 %
Don't mind either way/neutral	1 %	1 %	1 %
Don't known enough abut it/need more information	2 %	1 %	1 %
No opinion	2 %	2 %	2 %
Don't know	2 %	9 %	7 %

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