Survey conducted after White Paper publication

Tory Woe in Scottish Poll

The latest System Three survey for the paper, carried out after publication of the Government's devolution White Paper, puts the Conservatives down 2% on last month.

The Conservatives were the only party to criticise Labour's home rule plans outright, saying they would lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats also slipped back by 1% to 9%. Labour remained stable on 54%, while support for the Scottish National Party grew by 1% to 24%. The other parties gained 1%. Those undecided accounted for 11%.

The nationalists have agreed to put to one side their ultimate goal of independence to support devolution as a "half-way house".

The Scottish National Party Chief Executive, Mike Russell, said: "This is a very satisfying poll for the SNP, which confirms the party in a strong second place in Scottish politics. He added that SNP voters were the most likely to vote in the forthcoming referendum, and most committed to voting Yes.

System Three surveyed 1,023 voters in 39 locations across Scotland between July 24 and 29.

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