Alex Salmond’s ”Yes Scotland” campaign in the independence referendum, which is due to be launched in Edinburgh today, has been hit by a major blow as YouGov opinion poll shows most voters are unimpressed by his party’s core policy on separation of Scotland from Britain.

Salmond will today embark on what he illustrated as “the biggest gamble of his political career” in the hope of winning hearts and minds by 2014. However, an opinion poll commissioned by Alistair Darling, the former Chancellor, published to coincide with separatist campaign launch, showed 57% of Scots are opposed to independence with only 33% in favour.

Citing the poll results, Darling, leader of the pro-UK campaign, said the poll clearly shows that Salmond “doesn’t speak for Scotland”, adding that support for independence has hardly shifted in last 40 years. The YouGov poll also showed that people think that separate Scotland would be worse off financially.

“The nationalists will go to great lengths to try and prove there is a groundswell towards leaving the UK but the truth is their campaign has stalled. Independence is an unpopular as it has ever been”, emphasised Darling, the Edinburgh South West MP.

Meanwhile, Salmond will today be joined by celebrities and the leaders of minor left-wing parties to formally start his bid to end the 305-year-old Union between England and Scotland. Sir Sean Connery is one of the celebrities, who is expected to join Salmond to back “Yes Scotland” camapign.

However, Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Green Party co-leader, who disagrees with some of the SNP’s independence-related policies, claimed that his party would not be “cheerleaders” for the Nationalists.