Scottish Nationalists Unlikely to Win a Majority, Poll Indicates

A council staff member carries a sign during preparations to deliver ballot boxes to polling stations ahead of Scottish parliamentary election held on May 6, at the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain, on May 4, 2021. Russell Cheyne/Reuters

LONDON—Scotland’s main pro-independence party is unlikely to win an outright majority in Thursday’s parliamentary election, a blow to its hopes of demanding a referendum on separating from the United Kingdom, a Savanta Comres/The Scotsman poll indicated.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) wants a majority in the devolved parliament to demand another referendum, although British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said he will not grant one.