THE SNP Government is to renew calls for greater economic powers north of the Border after claiming there had been a historic shift in the public's attitude towards the party.

The Nationalists were given a further boost after a poll showed a rise in support across the UK for independence.

With the first party conference since the Nationalists won a majority at Holyrood just days away, officials last night claimed the latest statistics strengthened the claim for Alex Salmond's administration to get more economic teeth in the Scotland Bill.

And last night the UK Government was warned it was appearing out of touch with the wishes of the voters.

The latest Scottish Social Attitudes Survey for 2010 showed 74% of people thought the Holyrood Government ought to have most influence over how Scot- land is run compared with 16% for Westminster.

Meanwhile, a ComRes poll found more voters across the UK support Scottish independence, 39%, up six percentage points since May, than are opposed to it, 38%, a fall of four percentage points.

It comes just days after David Cameron visited Aberdeen to back a major oil-drilling operation off Shetland. The Prime Minister has called for the First Minister to hold an immediate referendum.

Mr Salmond, whose party faithful gather in Inverness on Thursday, reiterated he would refuse to bow to the pressure and the poll would take place in the second half of the current Parliament.

A senior source said: "The Holy- rood election, the opinion polls and now the social attitudes survey should all act as a powerful wake-up call to ministers at Westminster to get a grip with the reality of what the people of Scotland want and respond to it positively.

"The risk the UK Government is running is they are being overtaken by the people of Scotland, who are far ahead, almost out of sight, of where ministers at Westminster are and they are looking seriously out of touch.

"David Cameron and his colleagues have an opportunity to do something about it by putting economic teeth in the Scotland Bill."

Asked if Holyrood would withhold consent should the UK Government refuse to beef-up the legislation, the source declined to comment.

Under the Bill, the Scottish Parliament will take charge of more of the income tax raised in Scotland.

The new powers would be combined with a cut in the block grant, currently about £31 billion, which Scotland receives from the UK Government.

However, the Nationalists want to reinforce the Bill to give it more economic teeth.

The senior source said the cultural shift in Scottish voters' outlook meant Mr Salmond and colleagues had an even more powerful argument in the talks with their counterparts in London.

The findings of the social attitudes survey for 2010 also found 61% of Scots said they trusted Holyrood to act in Scotland's best interests always or most of the time compared with 22% who said they trusted Westminster to do so.

While the ComRes poll sample was of 2000 people, the Scotland Office pointed out the sample north of the Border was of just 176 people. "

We simply don't believe it reflects the wider picture accurately," added a spokesman.

Yesterday, Mr Salmond hit back, saying Mr Cameron was "blustering". He added: "I made it clear we would hold a referendum in the second half of the parliamentary term."

The senior source also claimed Mr Cameron and his colleagues were in disarray about Scotland.

The First Minister insisted the days of Westminster politicians telling Scotland what to do were over, saying: "We had generations of being ordered about from Westminster. That's gone now."

Responding to the latest poll, he said there was a "deep undercurrent of support" for Scottish independence.

"Among ordinary folk in England, there's a substantial amount of support for the idea Scotland wants to stand on its own two feet and make its own way in the world."

For Labour, Iain Gray argued those who believed in devolution had noth- ing to fear from the Scot-tish people and the only person who did was Mr Salmond who would not bring forward his referendum.

He said: "The reality is the vast majority of Scots want to make our country better, not separate," insisted the Scottish Labour leader.

A Scotland Office spokesman said last night: "Poll after poll has shown Scots support a strong Scotland in a modern UK. That's exactly what we are delivering in the Scotland Bill."

The social attitudes survey also found 64% felt Scotland's economy had become weaker in the 12 months prior to the study. More than half (54%) felt the general standard of living in Scotland had fallen over the same period.

The economy remained the public's priority for Scottish Government action last year, chosen by 37% of respondents, compared to 18% who said cutting crime should be first.