Alex Salmond’s problems with women (and the wealthy and the old)

Like the Peat Worrier and Kate Higgins, I think the headline figures on polls asking Scots whether they fancy independence or the Union are much less interesting than the numbers lurking beneath the surface. For it is these that reveal where Alex Salmond has the upper hand (at least for now) and where he most certainly does not. The latest Ipsos-Mori poll reports*, as Brother Jones noted the other day, that 39% of Scots certain to vote in the referendum favour independence. That’s dandy but not all that intriguing. Poke beneath the surface, however, and you find this:

45% of men back independence; just 30% of women do so.  45% of 18-34 year olds back independence; just 30% of Scots over 55 do so. 51% of those in the least affluent parts of Scotland support independence; just 26% of those in the wealthiest 40% of areas do so.