Might Nicola Sturgeon’s sinking approval ratings explain her appetite for a referendum?

In an interview with the BBC last night, Nicola Sturgeon suggested that the autumn of next year would be a ‘common sense’ time to hold another referendum on Scottish independence. Which would, of course, mean voting without knowing what the terms of the Brexit would be. (Or, perhaps, whether it will really happen.) Why the haste? This is another topic that came up on Question Time last night. I suggested that Sturgeon’s sense of urgency might be explained by opinion polls showing her ‘tanking’ approval rating. The 2021 Holyrood election will probably end the majority for independence, given that the SNP will have been in power for 14 years by then and Scots will already be ‘scunnered’ with them (as Ms Sturgeon might put it).

Support for independence is about 45 per cent (indeed, a poll yesterday said 50 per cent). But the below graph, for the record, is what I was referring to: Nicola Sturgeon’s tanking approval rating, as measured by YouGov.