You can’t jump if you’re pushed first

Most people, including those in Scotland, think England should have its own parliament, a BBC poll suggests.

Newsnight found 61% in England, 51% in Scotland and 48% in Wales agreed with the idea.

The poll, carried out to mark 300 years since the Act of Union, was of 883 adults in England, 543 in Scotland and 527 in Wales.

Its results come ahead of the Scottish Parliament elections in May, dubbed by some as a "referendum" on independence.

More people in Scotland wanted the Union to remain rather than break up, Newsnight found.


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Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond said the Scottish election would be a "referendum" on independence.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There's far more support for independence than there's ever been."

He added: "People feel far more Scottish than British."

Mr Salmond said that, if independence was gained, Scotland would keep the pound in the short term, before adopting the euro.

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Mr Salmond should read Truman Capote: There are more tears shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones.