LORD ASHCROFT POLLS: NEW CORONATION POLL FINDS SCOTS WOULD VOTE TO KEEP THE MONARCHY - BUT WOULD WANT AN INDEPENDENT SCOTLAND TO HAVE A NEW HEAD OF STATE

LONDON, May 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Scots would vote to keep the monarchy in a referendum tomorrow, according to new polling from Lord Ashcroft. However, most see the institution as an English thing rather than something shared by the whole UK, and more said they would want an independent Scotland to have its own head of state than to keep the King.

Findings from the survey include:

• 46% of Scots said they would vote to remain a constitutional monarchy in a referendum tomorrow, while 32% would vote to become a republic. 22% said they didn't know or would not vote. (Voters in England would keep the monarchy by 57% to 22%, and Wales by 54% to 23%. Voters in Northern Ireland said they would choose a republic by 46% to 42%).
• Only 27% of pro-republic voters said a republic would bring real, practical benefits; 69% said the monarchy was wrong in principle and should be replaced whether there are practical benefits or not.
• 58% of Scots said the monarchy felt like mostly an English thing, with 36% seeing it as something shared by the whole UK; 55% said the institution was only for some types of people, while 36% saw it as something for everyone.
• 38% said that if Scotland became independent they would want the King to stay as head of state; 44% said Scotland should have its own head of state under those circumstances.
• 60% of Scots agreed that "in an ideal world we wouldn't have the monarchy, but there are more important things for the country to deal with". 57% agreed that "the monarchy might seem a strange system in this day and age, but it works." A majority (56%) also said the monarchy means we have more stability in Britain than we would have without it.
• 60% of Scots have a favourable view of Princess Anne, making her the most popular living royal in Scotland (68% said they had a favourable view of Queen Elizabeth). 57% had a favourable view of the late Princess Diana, 55% of the Princess of Wales, 54% of Prince William, and 45% of King Charles. 17% had a positive view of Prince Harry and 15% of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
• 70% of Scots said they thought the King and the royal family cared a lot about the country, and 64% said they thought the royals did a better job of connecting with ordinary people than elected politicians. However, they disagreed by 57% to 43% that the King can unite everyone in the country no matter who they voted for.
• More than three quarters said the royal family should be scaled down and its costs significantly reduced (77%) and that the royal family needs to modernise to survive (76%).
• Asked to choose between the two statements, 58% of Scots said they saw the monarchy more as a valuable force for stability and continuity, while 42% saw it more as part of a colonial past that has no place in the country today. By 51% to 30%, Scots rejected the idea that the King should issue an apology for the UK and the monarchy's part in the history of slavery and colonialism.
• Asked where their sympathies lay between Prince Harry and the rest of the royal family, 12% of Scots said they had more sympathy with Harry and Meghan, and 35% with the King and Prince William; 10% said they sympathised with both, and 38% with neither.
• Lord Ashcroft's polling found six countries in which more said they would vote to become a republic than to keep the monarchy: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, Jamaica and the Solomon Islands.

1,470 adults in Scotland were interviewed online between 3 and 15 March 2023, and 6 focus groups were held Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. A total of 22,701 adults were interviewed in the 15 countries in which King Charles is head of state. The full report, Uncharted Realms: The Future of the Monarchy in the UK and Around the World, together with full data for each country, is available for free at LordAshcroftPolls.com

LORD ASHCROFT KCMG PC is an international businessman, philanthropist, pollster and author. He is a former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party and honorary Chairman of the International Democrat Union. His recent political books include Going For Broke: The Rise of Rishi Sunak, First Lady: Intrigue at the Court of Carrie and Boris Johnson, and Red Knight: The Unauthorised Biography of Sir Keir Starmer.

LordAshcroftPolls.com  //  LordAshcroft.com  //  Twitter/Facebook: @LordAshcroft

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