Abstract
Brexit and the continuing prospect of Scottish independence has provided a unique opportunity to explore the political relevance of national identity within the context of an increasingly dis-United Kingdom. This thesis demonstrates the relationship between Scottish and English identity and the political outcomes of Brexit, Scottish independence, political representation and perceptions of foreign nationals. It uses 21 interviews in Scotland, 24 in England and separate Scottish (n = 1,074) and English (n = 1,632) surveys in a multiple methods configuration. This allows it to triangulate the specific effect of Scottish and English identity upon these key political outcomes. From its survey component it establishes that predominant/exclusive national identification, comprised of associating strongly with national identity (Scottish/English) and simultaneously weakly with the state alternative (British), increases ingroup defensiveness or an aversion to perceived threats. Predominant/exclusive identification as English increases feelings of underrepresentation, negative views of the impact of foreign nationals and support for Brexit. Predominant/exclusive identification as Scottish increases feelings of underrepresentation and support for Scottish independence but does not affect either views of the impact of foreign nationals or views of Brexit. The interview component demonstrates that the political connotations attached to English identity are often that of a far-right, Eurosceptic and inwardly focused nature. Scottish identity’s political connotations were conversely articulated as being of a more tolerant, civic and socially conscientious nature with the identity being seen as an important precursor to Scottish independence. The thesis provides strong evidence from the survey and interview results, combined with the existing literature and theory, to support its conclusion that English and Scottish identity display strong relevance to the key political issues of the contemporary UK. Whilst predominant/exclusive association with national identity increases the perception of threat the threats are also perceived differently due to the specific nature of each identity. The Scots perceive the threat to be domestic – emanating from the UK political system. The English perceive it to be external – emanating from the ‘outsider threats’ of the EU and foreign nationals. The argument of this thesis is also supported by the extant English and Scottish identity literature and a strong theoretical component from the field of political psychology in Social Identity Theory and the Common Ingroup Identity Model.