Premium
National Identity or National Interest? Scottish, English and Welsh Attitudes to the Constitutional Debate
Author(s) -
Henderson Ailsa,
Jeffery Charlie,
Liñeira Robert
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the political quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.373
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1467-923X
pISSN - 0032-3179
DOI - 10.1111/1467-923x.12163
Subject(s) - referendum , national identity , welsh , grievance , brexit , politics , public opinion , political science , government (linguistics) , identity (music) , nationalism , public administration , european union , sociology , political economy , law , economics , geography , linguistics , philosophy , physics , archaeology , acoustics , economic policy
This article analyses political attitudes to the union in England, Scotland and Wales after the Scottish independence referendum. Using public opinion data, we explore constitutional preferences and perceptions of national grievance, before examining the role that national identity plays in structuring preferences. Our evidence shows that considerable demand exists for nationally demarcated forms of government within the UK , although these constitutional preferences do not translate in support for policy diversity across the UK . We also find evidence that these constitutional preferences relate closely to national identity, but relate also to appeals to national interest.