The Socioeconomic Basis of Scotland's Bid for Independence

When the Scottish National Party (SNP) won its first majority in the Scottish Parliament in 2011 it was not on the back of an increase in popular support for independence. Instead, the electorate perceived the SNP as the most competent party to run Scotland, while support for independence flat-lined. This all changed during the independence referendum campaign, when polls showed an increasing number of Scots wanting to leave the UK. Surveys revealed that people supporting Yes did so out of opposition to Westminster politics (seen as elitist, corrupt) and policies (especially the ‘austerity reforms’), as well as a desire to create a fairer society that was more reflective of Scottish values. This could be understood as a form of ‘welfare nationalism’. Alternatively, the ‘No’ side advanced a vision of social and economic solidarity across the UK underlined by a common citizenship, which can be understood as ‘welfare unionism’.

This paper will explore these competing visions of economic and social development in the independence campaign, and how these were shaped by key political actors. It also examines the transformation of these debates after the referendum, when further constitutional change was guaranteed despite partisan disagreement on the form it should take. The paper puts to bed the myth that demands for autonomy are (always) motivated by cultural or ethno-nationalism. Instead the discussion focuses on the pivotal relationship between the economy, society and territory in shaping the evolving ‘centre-periphery cleavage’ between Scotland and the UK, which also structures many other European states today.