By a Newsnet reporter
The SNP have welcomed findings in the Sunday Express which found that the vast majority of Scots believe that North Sea oil revenue should be allocated to Scotland.
The ‘State of the Nation’ poll by Angus Reid surveyed 500 people and found 68 per cent agreed that revenues from the oil and gas sector should be brought under Holyrood control. The poll also showed that most Scots wanted the Trident nuclear weapon system removed from the Clyde.
The results of the survey were welcomed by the SNP. The party’s MSP for Aberdeen Central, Kevin Stewart, said:
“With the support of some half the electorate across three recent polls the SNP is already reflecting the views and opinions of the people of Scotland who clearly seek access to the record tax revenues being generated by Scotland’s North Sea oil and gas.
“Our North Sea oil and gas resources – a £1 trillion asset base – are set to generate an all-time record £13.4 billion in tax revenue this financial year. Yet at the same time we have still not seen the introduction of a road fuel regulator to offset sky-high fuel costs.”
Mr Stewart repeated his party’s calls for more economic powers, needed he claimed in order to protect jobs in an oil and gas sector facing “damaging tax hikes” from the UK government.
The new poll also found that most Scots believe Trident should be removed from the Clyde with almost 40% of people in Scotland wanting an end to the weapons of mass destruction compared to only 30% who wanted it to remain.
SNP Westminster leader and party defence spokesman Angus Robertson MP said:
“The tide has turned on Trident, and the UK Government should recognise that renewal of this nuclear system is untenable. No wonder the SNP is achieving record poll ratings when our opponents ignore the will of the Scottish people on important issues like Trident.
“Any way you look at it – on moral, economic or political grounds – time is up for Trident.
“People struggle to understand why, at a time when conventional bases and personnel are being slashed and public service spending is facing a budget squeeze, the UK Government is ploughing billions of pounds into a new generation of unwanted and unnecessary nuclear weapons.
“Civil society, trade unions, religious organisations the Scottish Government, are working together to keep a new generation of Trident missiles out of our waters – even military leaders openly question the affordability and rationale of these weapons, and this poll shows that the tide has well and truly turned.”
The poll also showed that the SNP enjoys the support of almost half the country and most Scots now believe that independence for Scotland is inevitable.
