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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| SNP 'has referendum benchmark', BBC learns | SNP 'has referendum benchmark', BBC learns |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A level of 60% support for Scottish independence over the period of a year has been identified as a benchmark in making the decision over a second referendum, senior SNP sources say. | A level of 60% support for Scottish independence over the period of a year has been identified as a benchmark in making the decision over a second referendum, senior SNP sources say. |
| The figure is a "trigger point", but will not be publicly acknowledged, sources told the BBC's John Pienaar. | |
| Prof John Curtice said it was the level the party should be thinking about. | Prof John Curtice said it was the level the party should be thinking about. |
| SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon will not be drawn on whether a second referendum will take place while she is in charge. | SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon will not be drawn on whether a second referendum will take place while she is in charge. |
| But sources close to Ms Sturgeon said the benchmark was vital to ensure support for independence had become the "settled will" of the Scottish people. | But sources close to Ms Sturgeon said the benchmark was vital to ensure support for independence had become the "settled will" of the Scottish people. |
| "Six months of polls won't be enough," said a senior SNP figure, involved in the discussions. | "Six months of polls won't be enough," said a senior SNP figure, involved in the discussions. |
| Barrage of attack | Barrage of attack |
| Speaking on 5 Live's Pienaar's Politics, Prof Curtice, who is president of the British Polling Council, said: "It's entirely the kind of benchmark they should be thinking about. | Speaking on 5 Live's Pienaar's Politics, Prof Curtice, who is president of the British Polling Council, said: "It's entirely the kind of benchmark they should be thinking about. |
| "I think some of us said, not long after last year's referendum, that this was the kind of scenario the SNP needed to see in play before they could seriously contemplate a referendum." | "I think some of us said, not long after last year's referendum, that this was the kind of scenario the SNP needed to see in play before they could seriously contemplate a referendum." |
| He added: "I think one of the things that's forgotten about the referendum last year is that there had never previously been a period in which the opinion polls had consistently pointed to a majority in favour of 'Yes'. | He added: "I think one of the things that's forgotten about the referendum last year is that there had never previously been a period in which the opinion polls had consistently pointed to a majority in favour of 'Yes'. |
| "There really isn't much point in the SNP holding a referendum until it's clear that there is a majority - a sustained majority - in favour of doing so, because otherwise the serious risk is loss. | "There really isn't much point in the SNP holding a referendum until it's clear that there is a majority - a sustained majority - in favour of doing so, because otherwise the serious risk is loss. |
| "Why 60% - there clearly is a serious prospect that that figure will come down under the sustained barrage of attack that there will undoubtedly be on the independence project in the event of a second referendum." | "Why 60% - there clearly is a serious prospect that that figure will come down under the sustained barrage of attack that there will undoubtedly be on the independence project in the event of a second referendum." |
| On Thursday, Ms Sturgeon told the BBC that even a "thumping win" at next year's Scottish elections would not be enough to push for a second referendum. | On Thursday, Ms Sturgeon told the BBC that even a "thumping win" at next year's Scottish elections would not be enough to push for a second referendum. |
| Earlier, she had opened her party's Aberdeen conference calling on those against independence to vote SNP. | Earlier, she had opened her party's Aberdeen conference calling on those against independence to vote SNP. |
| In an interview with the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg, Ms Sturgeon said the timing of a referendum vote would be "down to whether we judge, I judge, that people who voted 'No' last year have changed their minds". | In an interview with the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg, Ms Sturgeon said the timing of a referendum vote would be "down to whether we judge, I judge, that people who voted 'No' last year have changed their minds". |
| And during her speech at the conference on Saturday, she reiterated that a second independence referendum would only come when the time was right. | And during her speech at the conference on Saturday, she reiterated that a second independence referendum would only come when the time was right. |
| She said the time for another Scottish independence referendum would be "when there is clear evidence" that opinion had changed and the majority of people in Scotland wanted it. | She said the time for another Scottish independence referendum would be "when there is clear evidence" that opinion had changed and the majority of people in Scotland wanted it. |
| She added: "Independence matters and we will never waver in our commitment to it. But what we say about jobs, schools and hospitals matters just as much to people across Scotland." | She added: "Independence matters and we will never waver in our commitment to it. But what we say about jobs, schools and hospitals matters just as much to people across Scotland." |