Alex Salmond: I am delighted a majority of LGBT voters support independence
The Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has said he is “delighted” at the results of a PinkNews poll which found that 54% of the Scottish LGBT community intends to vote Yes in Thursday’s independence referendum.
2,163 Scottish readers took part in the poll conducted on the PinkNews website on Friday and Saturday. 54% said that they intended to vote yes, 44% said that they would be voting no while 2% said that they were still undecided.
Among 1,204 non-Scottish readers of PinkNews, 87% said that they opposed independence, 5% supported it, while 8% were unsure.
First Minister Alex Salmond told PinkNews: “I am delighted this PinkNews poll has produced a majority for the Yes campaign, as well as the opportunity to build a fairer country that comes with it. It is a fantastic response from Scotland’s LGBT community and is a further demonstration of the rise in support for a Yes vote we have seen across Scotland. An independent Scotland will herald a new era for equalities, enshrining rights and protections in a written constitution.”
Asked how they would vote if there was an election tomorrow, 35% of Scottish LGBT people said that they would vote SNP, 26% Labour, 10% Green, 9% Liberal Democrats, 7% Conservative, 5% Scottish Socialist Party while 8% were unsure.
56% of Scottish Labour voters said that they will vote for independence.
Over the past weeks, the Yes and Better Together campaigns have both highlighted how LGBT equality could be benefit or suffer from a vote for independence.
Last week, PinkNews published documents from each of the major Scottish parties detailing how they believe gay rights could change under independence or remaining part of the UK, but with increased powers for the Scottish Parliament.
