Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Sorry, SNP, but Scotland’s social attitudes are just the same as England’s

For most of my adult life, I’ve heard people say that Scots are – politically – different to the English. Not small differences, but fairly fundamental ones. This never rang true to me; I grew up in or around military bases which bring families from all over the UK together and never noticed any difference. If anything, I noticed a bigger difference moving from the Highlands to Glasgow than moving from Glasgow to London. But anecdotal evidence counts for nothing, and you can’t deny that Scots have a tendency to vote for left-wing parties. But was this simply because they had the more impressive candidates, or because – as the SNP allege – Scotland and England fundamentally disagree?

There has been strikingly little study in the last question; it seemed to suit everyone to continue with the idea that Scots are different political beasts to the English. This was, after all, the basis of devolution.

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