MOST Scots don’t believe Nicola Sturgeon’s plan for a second independence referendum will happen.

The First Minister has insisted she intends to hold IndyRef2 late next year, despite Boris Johnson refusing to grant Holyrood the necessary powers to do so.

In an interview with the National today, Ms Sturgeon said she was sticking to that.

“I’ve set the timetable. Nothing has changed in terms of the timetable I’ve set,” she said. 

However a Savanta Comres poll for the Scotsman today found voters were sceptical.

The survey found 53 per cent of Scots thought it was “unlikely” that a referendum would be held by the end of 2023, with only 39% saying it was “likely”.

Barely half of the SNP own voters (57%) thought their leader’s timetable was realistic, with 37% suggesting it was unlikely, and 12% stating it was “very unlikely”.

Ms Sturgeon has said that if the Prime Minister continues to block Indyref2, she will pass a Referendum Bill at Holyrood without Westminster’s consent.

The legislation would almost certainly be challenged at the UK Supreme Court and probably struck down as incompetent, as the Union is an issue wholly reserved to Westminster. 

The Scottish Information Commissioner recently ordered the Scottish Government to release some of the legal advice it received on Indyref2 in 2020.

Ms Sturgeon has refused to rule out challenging that decision in court in order to keep the legal advice secret, in keeping with long-established - but not absolute - conventions. 

Despite setting herself a hard deadline for delivering Indyref2, Ms Sturgeon also pleaded for patience from Yes supporters in her National interview.

She said: “We’re progressing the independence case, we’re working on the revised prospectus, we’re making preparations around the bill. 

“We set the timetable at the election last year, won a mandate and that is the timetable we’re working to. 

“Scotland’s on a path to independence but as I’ve always said – and I know it’s tough for people who are like me impatient for Scotland to become independent – we’ve got to do it 

properly, we’ve got to persuade people, we’ve got recognise the issues that matter to people and make that case relevant and compelling for them. 

“Scotland’s on its way to independence and we need to show resolve. 

“Occasionally we need to show patience. If we do all of those things we’ll get there.”

Campaigning in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon was asked about the poll and said she was sticking to the 2023 timetable.

She said: "That's the plan I put the plan to the Scottish people in the Holyrood election last year. That's the plan we continue to work towards."