The number of Scots believed to be in favour of independence has dropped to less than a quarter of the population, according to a recent report.

The study claims that many of those who voted for Alex Salmond did so not for his nationalist agenda but because they believed that he would make the best First Minister.

Carried out by the Scottish Centre for Social Research, the report has found that the SNP's victory was not neccessarily a result of nationalist sentiment amongst Scottish voters.

Professor John Curtice, a co-director of the study, commented: "The SNP's victory in May was a success for the party rather than the cause of independence that it espouses.

"It had a popular leader and tapped a feeling that Holyrood should put Scotland, rather than partnership with London, first.

"This enabled the party to win the votes of those who already backed independence rather than win new converts to the independence cause."

Out of the 1300 people surveyed, 23 per cent said they were in favour of independence and more than 50 per cent said they wanted a devolved parliament with powers over taxation.

Participants were asked to score Mr Salmond’s potential as First Minister as compared with Jack McConnell. 44 per cent gave Mr Salmond a score of seven or more out of ten, while 23 per cent rated Mr McConnell as highly.

The report also claims that the SNP was much more effective than Labour in presenting itself as "Scotland's party".

The SCRS argued that the SNP won the election in May based on its credentials as a party in government, rather than on its pro-independence position.

In response to the report's findings, Labour's Cathy Jamieson said: "This report shows that most Scots don't agree with Alex Salmond and that the majority of people in Scotland don't want to separate from the rest of the UK - so much for the strength of Alex Salmond's argument on independence.

"It's time the SNP respected the will of the Scottish people and instead of picking fights and doing down devolution, got on with the job of government in Scotland."

The leader of the Scottish Conservative Party, Annabel Goldie, also told the BBC: "There is a clear implication for the three unionist parties - hold true to your principles, overwhelmingly Scotland agrees with you."

"But there is a stark message for the SNP. You are not there to grandstand on the world stage. You are not there to bicker for bickering's sake with Westminster. You are there to deliver on the bread and butter issues."

Nicol Stephen, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader said: "The low support for independence is the big message in this research."

Despite criticism from the three pro-union parties, an SNP spokesman claimed that the poll conducted by the SCSR showed that "the SNP is winning the support of the Scottish people."

The SNP has been accused of being a "one trick pony" obsessed with independence and with little regard for running the country sensibly.

A white paper published in August by Alex Salmond advised on three options for independence - continuing with devolution, altering devolution to add certain key powers to the Scottish Executive or full independence.

Much of the case for independence is based on "a cycle of under-performance" economically, which the SNP claim would stop with an independent Scotland.

Pro-independence campaigners have highlighted Scotland's poor growth rates over the last thirty years compared to the UK and many comparable European countries, including Ireland and Norway.

The white paper claims the economic output of Scotland could grow by £19 billion in 2015.

In order to achieve this, Mr Salmond wants what he calls "the full set of tools," including the ability to borrow on the global credit markets, control spending in key areas like defence, and increase commercial investment.

The SNP has promised to match the UK's economic growth rate within five years by slashing tax rates for businesses and attracting investment into education, enterprise and transport. They have also called for rights to the natural gas and oil reserves in the North Sea to be "repatriated" to the Scottish people. It is thought that these reserves would fuel much of an independent Scotland's new economy.

But while £230 billion in tax has been raised from oil over the last 40 years, returns are set to fall. The oil fields of the North Sea are looking increasingly less attractive as extraction costs rise and reserves run low, with UK oil experts have argued that oil output in the UK peaked several years ago and is set to decline.

There are also key deficiencies in the Scottish economy which would make independence difficult. For example, Scotland has an ageing population and low levels of entrepeneurship.

Brian Ashcroft, policy director at the Fraser of Allander Institute commented: "There is little evidence that small independent states necessarily grow faster and are more prosperous simply because they are small."

The shortfall between tax and public spending in Scotland is currently filled by borrowing, amounting to £11.2 billion in 2005.

However, the main issue still on the agenda is independence, with Nicol Stephen saying recently: "The SNP obsession with independence is a roadblock to consensus."