Scottish voters’ “loathing” for Boris Johnson is the main factor behind the recent surge in support for independence, according to an extensive new analysis. A poll by JL Partners conducted last month found 56 per cent support for separation and 44 per cent opposition, a result in line with a series of similar surveys. But it found that the most persuasive argument in favour of independence was “Boris Johnson is not the leader I want to have for my country”, a sentiment that 79 per cent of swing voters agreed with. Among the other factors driving the increase in support for separation were Brexit, the UK Government’s handling of the pandemic and a desire to settle the independence question once and for all. The poll also showed that Nicola Sturgeon is on course for a landslide win in next May’s Holyrood election, with 58 per cent support for the SNP in the constituency vote compared to only 19 per cent for the Tories and 13 per cent for Labour. She has said she will use the contest to seek a mandate for another independence referendum, placing huge pressure on the Prime Minister to hand her the powers to stage another vote. He has pledged to hold Ms Sturgeon to her promise before the 2014 referendum, which the Unionist side won by 55 per cent to 45 per cent, that it was a “once-in-a-generation” vote.