Mr Brown said: “Our poll shows Scotland’s problem lies with Whitehall, Westminster and a London-focused system. Many parts of the rest of the UK also feel disconnected from a centralized state.”
The FocalData survey of 1,000 people was conducted ahead of a meeting in Edinburgh on Thursday hosted by the think tank.
Mark Drakeford, the First Minister of Wales, Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, and Tracy Brabin, the Mayor of West Yorkshire, will join Scottish leaders in a call to decentralize power in Britain.
The poll found that six out of 10 Scots, 59 per cent, said they had a common bond with Geordies, compared to 21 per cent who said no.
About the same percentage, 58 per cent, said they generally shared the same values as people from Newcastle, while only 19 per cent disagreed. The other 23 percent say they don’t know.
Greater affinity with the Welsh
Scots felt similarly strong ties to the Welsh, according to the poll, with 57 per cent saying they had common ties and 22 per cent not.
The survey also found that 46 per cent of Scots said they had common ties with Liverpool residents, compared to 28 per cent who said they did not. For Mancunians, the numbers were 37 percent and 33 percent, respectively.
Donald Cameron, the Scottish Tories’ shadow secretary, said: “This poll highlights that – despite the SNP’s efforts to split the UK by harboring complaints at every step – Scots feel a strong affinity and connection with people south of the border.”
However, Keith Brown, the deputy leader of the SNP, said: “Scotland is suffering from ever-tightening control by Westminster. Independence, on the other hand, means a partnership of equals with our friends in the rest of the UK.”
