18th September 2024 Comment Economic issues Expectations of constitutional change
One of the key debates during the campaign for the 2014 independence referendum, whose 10th anniversary is marked today, was about the implications of independence for Scotland’s membership of the EU. ‘Yes’ campaigners argued that the country would be able seamlessly to remain part of the EU. ‘No’ advocates, in contrast, argued Scotland would have […]
5th September 2024 Comment
The Scottish Social Attitudes (SSA) survey is a high-quality annual survey which has been running since the advent of devolution in 1999. For twenty years it was, like the parallel British Social Attitudes survey, conducted as a random probability face-to-face survey in people’s homes. As a result, it provided a unique record of how attitudes […]
3rd September 2024 Comment National identity and cultural issues
Today marks the publication of the final chapter of the 2024 (41st) British Social Attitudes (BSA) report, the rest of which was published during the General Election campaign. The new chapter analyses the character of national identity and pride, looking both at long-term trends across Britain as a whole, and at similarities and differences between […]
17th January 2024 Comment Economic issues Expectations of constitutional change
Brexit means that the choice facing voters in another referendum on independence would be fundamentally different from that in 2014. In that referendum, a vote to remain part of the Union was also a vote to remain a member of the EU. Now, given that the Scottish National Party says that an independent Scotland would […]
13th October 2023 Comment Elections, parties & leaders How Scotland should be governed
The SNP leader, Humza Yousaf, faces a difficult party conference in Aberdeen, where his party will round off the autumn party conference season next week. Over the last couple of months the level of support for the SNP at a Westminster election has stood on average at just 36%, the lowest level it has been […]
4th May 2023 Comment How Scotland should be governed National identity and cultural issues
The coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Westminster Abbey on Saturday has unsurprisingly generated a considerable amount of polling on attitudes towards the monarchy in recent week. Much of that has been Britain-wide. However, there has also been some polling of Scotland alone that allows us to examine attitudes north of the […]
27th April 2023 Comment Elections, parties & leaders How Scotland should be governed
The arrest on 5 April of Peter Murrell, until recently the Chief Executive of the SNP, in connection with allegations about the possible misuse of funds collected by the SNP in 2017 to promote independence has given rise to much speculation about the possible impact of the story on the fortunes of the SNP (see, […]
11th April 2023 Comment Elections, parties & leaders How Scotland should be governed
One of the key developments in Scottish electoral politics over the last decade has been a strengthening of the relationship between constitutional preference and party choice. Those who support independence have come overwhelmingly to support the SNP, while those who are opposed have become disinclined to do so. According to the Scottish Social Attitudes survey, […]
14th March 2023 Comment Elections, parties & leaders
SNP members are now voting for the next leader of the SNP. Following a tough interrogation by Sky News’ Political Editor, Beth Rigby last night, tonight the contenders will debate each other in front of a live audience on BBC1 Scotland. The polls suggest there is everything to play for, at least so far as […]
16th February 2023 Comment Elections, parties & leaders
Scottish Labour meet in Edinburgh this weekend in better heart than for a long time. The party outpolled the Conservatives in last May’s local elections, the first time it had done so in a Scotland-wide ballot since 2016. Almost every poll conducted since the beginning of last year has suggested that the party has now […]
Explore the What UK Thinks website. Non-partisan information on UK attitudes to the EU before and since the EU Referendum.
