Public support for Independence has grown slightly in the past three months ? but a new poll shows the vast majority of people still oppose the idea.

Just under 20 percent ? about one in five people ? of those quizzed are now in favour of severing links with the UK, up from 18 percent in the last survey in November.

However, 64 percent are still against the idea, a minor drop from 65 percent.

Support for Independence over the past year has remained steadily around the 20 percent mark.

Last September the figure was just over 29 percent, in July it was 21 and in both March and January last year it stood at 24.

Opposition has consistently been strong, with 51 percent against last September, 71 percent in July, 67 percent in March and 63 percent last January.

Premier Ewart Brown stated before his election last October that Independence remained a key objective, but he has also indicated it would not be an initial focus of his leadership. Former Premier Alex Scott put the subject on the political agenda three years ago when he launched a series of public debates, while the United Bermuda Party called for an Independence referendum last August.

A breakdown of the figures shows the extra support appears to have come from the older section of society, particularly men.

Among the 55 and older category, support for Independence has grown from 16 percent three months ago to 21 percent. Opposition among this age group still remains strong, but has fallen quite sharply from 70 percent to 62 percent.

People aged from 36 to 54 showed a slight drop in support, from 21 percent to 19 percent, with those against sticking at 63 percent.

Those aged from 18 to 35 showed a rise in both support and opposition.

The figure in favour is 19 percent, up from 15 percent, while 67 percent are against, up from 60 percent.

This can be explained by the decrease in people saying they were unsure, from 25 percent to 14 percent.

Support for Independence remains strongest among men, at 26 percent, a rise from 21 percent.

Just over 58 percent of men oppose it, down from 60 percent.

Just 15 percent of women want Independence, down from 16 percent, while their level of opposition remains unchanged at 68 percent.

Exactly 30 percent of blacks were in favour, slightly down from 32 percent, with 52 percent against, slightly up from 47 percent.

There is much less support among whites, with just 7 percent backing Independence, slightly up from 5 percent, and 78 percent against it, down from the overwhelming 86 percent who voted against in November.

The phone survey of 411 people was carried out by Research Innovations from January 18 to 21. It has a margin of error of 4.9 percent.