YouGov Poll: Half of Conservative voters in England support English independence

Pollers were asked: "If there was a referendum held tomorrow on England becoming an independent country and this was the question, how would you vote? Should England be an independent country?"

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With don’t knows and those who refused to answer removed, the poll shown that overall 35% of people in England now favour English independence.

Support in London remained relatively low at 25%, however, voters in the north and midlands saw numbers hit 38%.

Those aged over 65 were most likely to vote for English independence, with 48% polling in favour.

Siôn Jobbins, chair of YesCymru, said: “This poll, shows two interesting and important things.

“Firstly, that a significant minority of people in England, especially outside London, support an independent England.

“Secondly it shows that the support for an independent England comes from the polar opposite of support for Welsh and Scottish independence. Support for an independent England is among older people and people on the right whilst support for Welsh independence is mostly found among younger people and on the left.

“The problem for Wales is, despite having a parliament with some powers, we are still over ruled by a political party and ideology which is diametrically opposed to much of what the people of Wales believe in.

“Independence for England is the political elephant in the living room of British politics. Welsh independence is a way out for Wales.”

Political scientist Dafydd Trystan commented: “The polling evidence shows that a considerable minority of voters in England would vote to bring the United Kingdom to an end. 

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“The picture is even more interesting when one looks at the voters of different parties. Conservative and Unionist voters split evenly on the future of the UK with almost half being proponents of England going it alone. 

“These findings accord with the lack of importance given to preserving the Union amongst Conservative voters in polling on Brexit and its impact on the relationship between England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.”

The sample size was 1384 adults in England, with the survey being carried out between June 17-18.

The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+). All figures quoted are with Don’t Knows and those who refused excluded.