Scottish referendum is on a knife edge as new poll shows dead heat

A new poll suggests the yes and no camps in the Scottish independence referendum campaigns are neck and neck

The TNS poll confirms there has been a significant increase in the number of people backing independence, a trend identified by a YouGov poll at the weekend which gave a narrow lead to the ‘yes’ campaign for the first time.

The new research found that support for independence and staying in the United Kingdom was tied on 41 per cent among those who said they were certain to vote on September 18.

That means backing for ‘yes’ is up from 38 per cent in the last TNS poll last month while support for the union is down from 46 per cent.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown last night set out a vision for the future of Scotland if it stays in the Union at the end of 48 hours which saw the Better Together campaign reeling from the apparent slide in its support and the value of shars in Scottish companies fall.

Blair McDougall, campaign director for Better Together organisation, said: “The last couple of days will be seen as the moment the referendum got real. We know from these polls that there is no room for a protest vote. The vote of any one of us could be crucial and could make the difference between the UK breaking up and staying together.”