Support for Scottish independence is higher in England and Wales than it is north of the border, according to a poll.

29 per cent felt Scotland should quit the UK

Only 26 per cent of voters in Scotland want to break up the Union, compared with 46 per cent who do not, the Survation poll in the Mail on Sunday revealed.

In England and Wales, 29 per cent felt Scotland should quit the UK, with only 40 per cent feeling that it should not.

The survey also found that Scots were more likely to vote against independence in a referendum if it contained a second question on whether more powers should be devolved to Edinburgh from Westminster.

In that case – the format preferred by Scottish National Party First Minister Alex Salmond – Scottish support for a break with England and Wales dropped to 23 per cent, with a majority, 52 per cent, opposing independence.

Even on the question of further devolution, dubbed Devo-Max, only 32 per cent backed the idea while 35 per cent opposed it.

Survation interviewed 1,001 people in Scotland and 1,019 in England and Wales between Thursday and Saturday.