THE campaigns for Scottish independence and Brexit represented “different types of nationalism”, fresh research has concluded.
The latest British Social Attitudes report published on Tuesday found Scots in favour of leaving the Union have a more “civic” understanding of what it means to be “truly Scottish” than their opponents, meaning they believe someone can be Scottish by simply buying into a set of shared values and respect for the country’s political institutions.
In contrast, the research found those who support Brexit are more likely than Remainers to have an exclusive, “ethnic” conception of what it means to be British, believing that British identity is based on ancestry or place of birth.
This led researchers to conclude supporting Scottish independence and backing Brexit are “different types of nationalism”.
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They said the argument for Brexit was “more exclusive in tone, focusing on sovereignty and concern about immigration” while the campaign for Scottish independence argued that Scotland “needs to pool its sovereignty with the rest of the EU and that it should welcome migrants”.
The research found only 50% of those who support Scottish independence said that being born in Scotland is important to being “truly Scottish”, compared with 59% of those who oppose independence.
Meanwhile, 78% of Brexit supporters believe that being born in Britain matters to “being truly British”, whereas only 45% of Remainers feel that way.
While 42% of those who support independence say that having Scottish ancestry is important to being Scottish, this is much less than the 51% that oppose independence who take that view.
In contrast, 65% of those who back Brexit say that having British ancestry matters to being British, compared with just 28% of those who would vote to remain in the EU.
However, top pollster John Curtice (above), a senior research fellow at the National Centre for Social Research that published the findings, said it was still a “surprise” to find many independence supporters still believed family background was important to identity.
He said: “Our systematic comparison of people’s understanding of national identity on the two sides of the Border turns up a surprise.
“Although Scottish identity has been promoted, not least by the Scottish National Party, as an inclusive, ‘civic’ identity, in fact, having Scottish family background is thought by many to be as a key ingredient of being Scottish.
“This may reflect the fact that, in the absence of statehood and a legal definition of who is Scottish definition, people are more likely to think of Scottish identity as a social attribute rather than a political phenomenon.”
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Curtice and researcher Alex Scholes added in the report: "Although people’s understanding of national identity is much the same in Scotland as it is in England, our evidence strongly suggests that the nationalism which underpins the demand for Scottish independence is rather different from that which underlay popular support for Brexit.
"Focusing as it did on sovereignty and immigration, the argument for Brexit was more exclusive in tone than a campaign for Scottish independence that suggested Scotland should pool its sovereignty with the EU and which promoted a civic understanding of who is Scottish.”
Speaking to the PA news agency, Curtice said: “Relatively speaking, people who are current supporters of independence are somewhat more inclined towards a civic notion of Scottish identity than are those people who are not.”
The report stated its findings on identity lined up with attitudes towards immigration.
Those in favour of being outside the EU are more likely than those who wish to remain to endorse negative statements about immigrants. A total 57% of opponents of EU membership agree that immigrants increase crime rates, compared with just 17% of those who would vote to remain.
In contrast, those who would vote Yes to independence are less likely than those who would back No to agree with these negative statements about immigrants. A total of 32% of those who support Scotland remaining part of the UK agree that immigrants increase crime rates, compared with only 19% of those who would vote for Scottish independence.
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