Scottish Independence Polls Before and After TV Debate: Voters Still Against Union Break

Two polls, taken before and after the much anticipated televised debate between Scotland's first minister Alex Salmond and former Chancellor Alastair Darling, have revealed that Scots are still likely to vote against independence during the referendum in September.

On 5 August, Salmond and Darling went head to head over whether voters should opt for or against breaking the 307-year old union with England.

According to an Ipsos Mori poll for STV, which aired the debate, the No vote remained static at 54%, although the pro-independence vote rose four points to 40%.

However, after the verbal tussle between Salmond and Darling, the ICM poll for the Guardian newspaper showed that 47% were inclined to vote No while 42% of voters were opting for breaking the union.

The ICM poll also found that 51% thought Darling had better arguments on critical issues, while only 40% thought Salmond responded satisfactorily to hard questions.

However, 47% said Salmond had the most attractive personality out of the two.

Scottish people will vote in an independence referendum on 18 September, 2014, and will be asked the straight "yes/no" question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

The referendum period started on 30 May.