The SNP is in the driving seat among  voters for both Holyrood and Westminster, according to new polling evidence.

The findings were welcomed by Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon who said it showed the Nationalists were "winning the debate" in Government.

The poll by Ipsos-Mori for Holyrood Magazine puts the SNP seven points ahead of Scottish Labour for Holyrood and two points ahead for Westminster.

Ms Sturgeon, also the SNP deputy leader, said: "These are really excellent poll ratings for the SNP at both Westminster and Holyrood.

"Not only do they demonstrate that the SNP Government is winning the debate in Holyrood but also building support for sending SNP MPs to fight Scotland's corner in Westminster.

"They also show our vote is far more motivated than Labour's."

At Holyrood, the SNP is on 36% and Scottish Labour on 29%, according to the poll, with the Scottish Conservatives (14%) and Scottish Liberal Democrat (14%) trailing behind.

At Westminster, the SNP is on 32% and Scottish Labour on 30% with the Scottish Conservatives on 17% and the Scottish Lib Dems on 13%.

The poll also indicates that when the certainty to vote is taken into account the SNP's lead increases further to 13 points for Holyrood and six points for Westminster.

If this result were replicated at a Westminster election the Nationalists say they would gain 19 seats with a swing of nearly 14% from Labour, while at Holyrood it would see the SNP win 55 seats to Labour's 35.

The poll sampled 1,000 people by telephone between August 20 and 31.

"Voters are demonstrating that they respect a party that is prepared to take hard decisions and a party that stands up for protecting the jobs of Scottish workers and investment in Scottish public services," Ms Sturgeon added.

"Our Programme for Government shows that we are setting the Scottish political agenda, with this commanding poll lead - putting the SNP in an even stronger poll position over Labour than when we won the election in 2007."