National Identities and Politics After Devolution

1. National Identities and Politics After Devolution Ross Bond & Michael Rosie University of Edinburgh

2. ‘Measuring’ national identities in the UK: multiple choices Please say which, if any, of the words on this card describes the way you think of yourself. Please choose as many or as few as apply. African Northern Irish Asian Scottish British Ulster English Welsh European Other Irish None of these

3. ‘Measuring’ national identities: ‘best’ or ‘forced’ choice Do you consider yourself to be British, Scottish, English, Irish, Welsh or something else ? OR And if you had to choose, which one best describes the way you think of yourself? (depends on year and location of study) • Provides single variable rather than series • But does not take account of dual identities • We can use the multiple choice measure to derive dual identities, but this does not represent relative importance of these identities. Hence…

4. ‘Measuring’ national identities: scales Which, if any, of the following best describes how you see yourself? Scottish (English/Welsh) not British More Scottish (English/Welsh) than British Equally Scottish (English/Welsh) and British More British than Scottish (English/Welsh) British not Scottish (English/Welsh) Other description None of these

5. ‘Measuring’ national identities: ‘key’ identities People differ in how they think of or describe themselves. If you had to pick just one thing from this list to describe yourself – something that is very important to you when you think of yourself, what would it be? And what would the second most important thing be? And what would the third most important thing be?

6. ‘Measuring’ national identities: ‘key’ identities Working class British Elderly Woman/Man Not religious Wife/Husband Catholic Country person City person Protestant Mother/Father Middle class Black Retired Religious Scottish (or English etc.) Working person Young White Asian Unemployed Other None of these/no further answer

7. Important caveats in the study of (national) ‘identities’ • Identities are multiple: different identities mobilised in different contexts? • Territorial identities: hierarchical or concentric • Same identity, different understandings • Use of the term ‘identity’ may itself be problematic BUT: • Well-established tradition of researching national identities in a ‘categorical’ fashion • Identities may subsume diversity and yet still be significant in themselves. • Problems with survey measures, but consistent patterns of difference between territories and consistent correlation with other variables

8. Multiple choice national identities, 2003/2005 (2003 in Wales and N. Ireland; 2005 in England and Scotland)

9. Best choice national identities, 2005(2003 in Wales)

10. ‘Moreno’ national identities (X = English, Scottish or Welsh)

11. Most important Identities

12. Consistency betweendifferent measures? • Salience of Scottish national identity compared to Welsh and (particularly) English identities • Britishness secondary for most in Scotland, and to some extent in Wales • In England, Britishness and Englishness more evenly balanced - if anything, Britishness somewhat more important • Dual identities prominent in all ‘British’ nations, but not in N. Ireland • But is there consistency over time, and has devolution made a difference?

13. Multiple Choice identities, Scotland 1996-2005

14. Best/Forced Choice, Scotland 1979-2005

15. ‘Moreno’, Scotland 1992-2005

16. Multiple Choice identities, England 1996-2005

17. Best/Forced Choice, England 1979-2005

18. ‘Moreno’, England 1997-2005

19. Multiple Choice identities, Wales 1996-2005

20. Best/Forced Choice, Wales 1979-2005

21. ‘Moreno’, Wales 1997-2005

22. National identities and political attitudes in England, 2005

23. National identities and political attitudes in Scotland, 2005

24. National identities and political attitudes in Wales, 2003

25. National identities and political attitudes in N. Ireland, 2003

26. Conclusions • Evident consistencies between different measures of national identities and, to a degree, over time - albeit with notable fluctuations • Contrasts in identities between territories suggests potential basis for constitutional instability, but no obvious post-devolution shifts • Evidence of direct political significance also inconclusive: weak association between identities and attitudes in England and substantial ‘non-alignment’ in Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland, despite stronger alignment and less consensus, alternatives to devolution seem unlikely • Overall, national identities in UK show significant patterns of variation and political significance but unlikely to provide basis for radical constitutional change.