Hammer blow for Nicola Sturgeon in battle with Theresa May as more Scots think PM is doing better job than First Minister
Comes as ex-Bank of England governor Mervyn King says Scotland could ‘certainly’ be independent
NICOLA Sturgeon was dealt another hammer blow in her on-going battle with Theresa May after a new poll said more Scots think the Prime Minister is doing a better job than the First Minister.
The news came as the former Bank of England governor Mervyn King said Scotland could “certainly” be an independent country - but such a move would have financial consequences.
surveyed more than 2,000 people with addresses registered north of the border about whether they believe various party leaders are doing a good or a bad job.
Some 48% of those quizzed said they believe Mrs May is doing a good job, while just 42% said the same of Ms Sturgeon.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson topped the results table, with an approval rating of 53%, five percentage points above the PM.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn fared worst in the online study, with only 16% backing his leadership and 77% describing it as "bad".
The poll comes as the First Minister prepares to make her case for Holyrood to be granted the power to stage a second independence referendum in the aftermath of Britain's Brexit vote.
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The SNP leader will call on MSPs to back her request to Westminster for a Section 30 order, allowing for a legally-binding vote to be held.
It comes just over a week after she announced plans to hold another referendum on Scotland's future some time between autumn 2018 and spring 2019.
Scottish Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrat politicians have already made clear they will seek to block such a ballot.
But the pro-independence Scottish Greens, who have six MSPs, will give the First Minister the support she needs for her motion to be passed on Wednesday afternoon.
Prime Minister Theresa May has already said ''now is not the time'' for another referendum and has indicated the UK Government would reject the SNP's preferred timetable.
Ms Sturgeon's motion calls on the Scottish Parliament to acknowledge ''the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of government best-suited to their needs''.
But Ms Davidson insisted a second vote on independence would be the "'wrong course of action to take'', arguing the "'clear majority of Scots say they don't want to go through the uncertainty of another referendum at this time''.
But last night Lord King said he did not see "any major problems" over Edinburgh going its own way, or the question of which currency an independent Scotland would use.
The peer, who was at the helm of the Bank of England until 2013, did say it could however be a challenge to borrow money on the international market.
Speaking to BBC Two's Newsnight programme he said: "Scotland certainly could be an independent country. There are plenty of small countries the same size as Scotland.
"Scotland has both the people, it has the capital city, the history, the culture. It could be an independent country. The question is, does it want to be, given the consequences of it?"
