Nearly 40% of respondents said they would vote for an independent Wales, boosting Plaid Cymru and YesCymru’s hopes for the upcoming Senedd election.
A recent poll showing the highest ever recorded support for Welsh independence has brought hope for Plaid Cymru and YesCymru in the upcoming Senedd election.
The poll by ITV showed that by removing the ‘don’t know’ answers, 39% of respondents would vote ‘Yes’ if a referendum for Welsh independence was held tomorrow.
Plaid Cymru, the party campaigning for independence and YesCymru, the movement behind the campaign say they are hopeful the poll means there will be greater support behind independence in the election.
Wiliam Rees, who is running as Plaid Cymru’s candidate for Cardiff Central for the first time said: “With support at its highest recorded level ever, this highlights the appetite for change in Wales.
“We now need to make sure that all supporters of independence know that for Wales to win our independence, Plaid Cymru need to win in May,” he said.
The Senedd election will take place on 6 May and will be the first time 16 and 17-year olds can vote in Wales.
The poll was conducted in collaboration with Savanta ComRes for a special programme of UK: The End of the Union? and found that 53% of the people who voted ‘Yes’ believe that Wales has different social attitudes to the UK.
However, those who voted ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ had reservations such as the economy and the possibility of a lower standard of living. Of those who voted ‘No’, 35% were worried about the standard of living, as well as 29% of those who voted ‘Yes’.
Wiliam is hopeful that the poll’s results reflect a step-change in people’s views towards independence across Cardiff central.
He said: “As the only candidate from a major Senedd party standing in the constituency that is in favour of independence, my job now is to convince those people that a Plaid Cymru Government is the best way for them to see their hopes realised.”
YesCymru, the non-political movement officially launched their campaign for independence in 2016, and say they have a clear strategy of how they will continue to gain support.
“We are investing in getting more facts and figures in favour of independence and to get those facts on social media,” he said.
Polls have consistently stayed at around 30% support over the last 10 months, making this result a significant increase.
Siôn Jobbins, the Chair of YesCymru who officially launched the campaign for Welsh independence in 2016 said that although polls can increase and decrease, Yes Cymru believe the result is consistent with trajectory.
He said: “People have seen over the last 12 months that Wales can govern itself and can in fact make better decisions when it doesn’t listen to Westminster.”
Although the movement is said to not be political, he said: “For us all, it’s important that we have a government after May which has a pathway for independence.”
“We think things could move very quickly in Scotland in the next year or so and Wales needs to be ready,” he said.