very poor reporting. The SNP still well ahead and the Times potrays this as faltering.

Bill , Edinburgh, Scotland

The poll shows 22% support for independence because there is another option of further powers with 56%, but what is meant by extra powers,, it is not well enough defined? In polls with a straight yes/no in favour of independence, the independence the yes vote is usually higher than the no vote, which suggests that many people see little difference between independence and further powers.

H, Tranent,

This poll is probably quite accurate, but the seat prediction is absurd as the poll, fails to measure at all the smaller parities and independents, In a UK first past the post election to a 650 member parliament this barely matters, but in an regional list based PR system it is just intellectually absurd to interpret polls in this way. To be fair, Angus Macleod is doing is what near all the Scottish jounos do. But they got it wrong in 2003 - neat all missing the rise of the greens who got 6 seats and the SSP who got 5, plus 3 independents - so a total of 14.“others“, rather a lot in a 129 parliament. This time, it will be nearer 20 for sure . But this interpretation of an accuratish poll has the "others" at 1. Go back to school Angus and the rest of you. You are covering an election for another electoral system and for another place. And it will likely be these 20 or so others that will make or break Alex Salmond and ultimately the Union. Find out more at www.youscotland.com

Alan Smart, Falkirk, Scotland

Oh Woe!

The SNP lead in the Polls - again - I bet the other parties wish they had this bad news!

Andrew Hendry, Edinburgh,

The spin that Angus Macleod has put on this story, encapsulated in the headline, is nothing short of bizarre. Here is a poll that shows the SNP in a clear lead, just two weeks before an election which, if they go on to win, would mark a truly historic breakthrough. Imagine if the Lib Dems were in a similar position in the polls with two weeks to go before a Westminster general election. Would any newspaper be daft enough to say "Lib Dem bandwagon stalls" or "Lib Dems falter"? I think everyone would just be marvelling at the continued strength of their position (fainting from the shock, more likely).

Frances, Glasgow, Scotland

Is it realy fair (cricket) that we English have to put up with scotish experts on our Football, economics, government ,
in fact everything and we just take it.
Back in scotland ( I worked there for 2years) they want there own independance and national pride, now when we are all europeans they should get it and not one of them should be in Westminister.

Alan Dick, Newcastle, Northumberland

Sorry Mr McLeod, you are not credible. You wrote this article before the election started. We have been waiting for it and we are not frightened by it.

You had better write two articles for publication on 4th May. The reality one after the count of votes and your dream one any day now.

James Brown, Ayr, Scotland

The last 3 polls have shown a SNP decline and a Labour gain but populus polls aren’t exactly the most reliable and also the SNP has never matched the performance in the polls with the election performance, so if we went into polling day with a poll similar to this I would be quite confident of a Labour victory. Let’s hope we get some more polls soon to get a clearer picture and some regional polls one carried out in the North East recently showed a massive SNP lead which would suggest the SNP doing well in areas where they are already strong but possibly not as well in the central belt.

Darryl Matheson, Elgin, Morayshire, UK

The problem with this whole article is that the last times populus poll showed the SNP doing far better than previous polls.

It is probably the case thatthe last poll was a blip.

The figures here far more in line with the other polsters over recent weeks and that just confirms that the SNP are still on taget to be the largest party and that labour are going to get a kicking.

The other flaw is that the likes of Margo McDonald and Tommy Sheridan may well get in on the back of strong local votes which don't show up on a national poll. For the same reason i'd expectthe greens to meet the threshold for seats in more than one region even on a 3% poll.

Peter Cairns, Inverness, Scotland

Why is England the only one of the four fome countries that doesn't have its own Parliament? Whoever wins the election, and whether Scotland regains its independance or merely gains greater devolved powers - or, indeed, whether Scotland remains as it is in terms of devolution / independance - isn;t it about time that the Government started treating England fairly by setting up an English Parliament?

Richard, Manchester,

This poll is probably quite accurate, but the seat prediction is absurd as the poll, fails to measure at all the smaller parities and independents, In a UK first past the post election to a 650 member parliament this barely matters, but in an regional list based PR system it is just intellectually absurd to interpret polls in this way. To be fair, Angus Macleod is doing is what near all the Scottish jounos do. But they got it wrong in 2003 - neat all missing the rise of the greens who got 6 seats and the SSP who got 5, plus 3 independents - so a total of 14.“others“, rather a lot in a 129 parliament. This time, it will be nearer 20 for sure . But this interpretation of an accuratish poll has the "others" at 1. Go back to school Angus and the rest of you. You are covering an election for another electoral system and for another place. And it will likely be these 20 or so “others” that will make or break Alex Salmond and ultimately the Union. Find out more at www.youscotland.com

Alan Smart, Falkirk, Scotland

This poll shows what most analysts have expected over the past few months - many undecided Labour voters choosing to continue support Labour, but many others still unsure how to vote. SNP tax rises have clearly dented SNP support, but it seems that undecided Labour voters still aren't sure who to vote for. If Labour are to remain in government they need to present a positive reason to vote Labour rather than just their accurate expose of the potential disaster for Scotland of an SNP administration.

Steven Lang, Glasgow,

What laughable spin is attempted here - I find the way the SNP's lead in the polls is portrayed as some sort of disaster for them hilarious.

Diomedes Kane, Glasgow,

This is hardly disasterous news for the SNP. Yes it's heartening for the Lib Dems but it's devastating to Labour. Only 2 weeks to go and they have made no serious impact on the SNP's lead over them - what they might have gained on the constituency vote they have lost on the list. A pinch of salt comes to mind reading this analysis...

Grant Thoms aka Tartan Hero, Glasgow, Scotland

So we are supposed to believe that support for Independence has halved over the spce of a few days are we?

I rather suspect that the majority of people holding a view for Scotish Independence have held it for a considerable period of time and would therefore be unlikely to change their position quite as readily as suggested.

Furthermore, I believe that linking the Independence issue to the Holyrood vote is a mischievous exercise, designed to mislead. Even if the SNP won the Scottish election by a landslide there would still be a referendum on the independence issue. Linking the two is a Labour attempt to frighten voters into voting for a Unionist party.

Unbeliever, Livingston,