Scottish Social Attitudes Survey

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The Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, started in 1999, is an annual survey of public opinion in Scotland, funded by the public purse.

Scotland country in Northwest Europe, part of the United Kingdom

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain, with a border with England to the southeast, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast, the Irish Sea to the south, and more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

Conducted by the Scottish branch of NatCen Social Research, in conjunction with the Unit for the Study of Government in Scotland at the University of Edinburgh, it is largely funded by the Scottish Government and its agencies.

University of Edinburgh public research university in Edinburgh, Scotland

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1582, is the sixth oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's ancient universities. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city of Edinburgh, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university. The university played an important role in leading Edinburgh to its reputation as a chief intellectual centre during the Age of Enlightenment, and helped give the city the nickname of the Athens of the North.

The Scottish Government is the executive government of the devolved Scottish Parliament. The government was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive under the Scotland Act 1998, which created a devolved administration for Scotland in line with the result of the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution. The government consists of cabinet secretaries, who attend cabinet meetings, and ministers, who do not. It is led by the first minister, who selects the cabinet secretaries and ministers with approval of parliament.

The 1999 survey also functioned as the Scottish Parliament Election Study. [1]

2010 Survey

The 2010 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey core finding was that just 28% of respondents supported Scottish independence, a lower level than in two recent social attitude studies. A majority support "devo max" (maximum devolution) [2] with 60% of respondents wanting the Scottish Parliament to control Scotland's £18 billion welfare bill (including power over public pensions and benefits), and a majority (59%) also supported taxation levels being decided in Edinburgh rather than London. [3] This goes further than the conclusions of the Calman Report.

Scottish independence is the political movement for Scotland to become a sovereign state independent from the United Kingdom.

Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories have the power to make legislation relevant to the area.

Scottish Parliament devolved parliament of Scotland

The Scottish Parliament is the devolved unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyrood.

The survey found that most Scots only supported powers over defence, foreign affairs and monetary policy remaining with the UK Government.

Monetary policy subclass of the economic policy

Monetary policy is the process by which the monetary authority of a country, typically the central bank or currency board, controls either the cost of very short-term borrowing or the monetary base, often targeting an inflation rate or interest rate to ensure price stability and general trust in the currency.

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Unionism in Scotland is a political movement which seeks to keep Scotland within the United Kingdom (UK). Scotland is one of four countries of the United Kingdom which has its own devolved government and Scottish Parliament, as well as representation in the UK Parliament. There are many strands of political Unionism in Scotland, some of which have ties to Unionism and Loyalism in Northern Ireland. The three main political parties in the UK: the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats all support Scotland remaining part of the UK.

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Full fiscal autonomy (FFA) – also known as devolution max, devo-max, or fiscal federalism – is a particular form of far-reaching devolution proposed for Scotland. The term has come to describe a constitutional arrangement in which instead of receiving a block grant from the UK Exchequer as at present, the Scottish Parliament would receive all taxation levied in Scotland; it would be responsible for most spending in Scotland but make payments to the UK government to cover Scotland's share of the cost of providing certain UK-wide services, including at least defence and the conduct of foreign relations. Scottish fiscal autonomy – stopping short of full political independence – is usually promoted by advocates of a federal or confederal constitution for the United Kingdom.

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This page lists the public opinion polls that were conducted in relation to the Scottish independence referendum, 2014, that was held on 18 September 2014. Overall, polls showed that support for a "No" vote was dominant until the end of August 2014, when support for a "Yes" vote gained momentum and the gap closed significantly, with at least one poll placing the "Yes" vote ahead. In the final week of the campaign, polls showed the "No" vote to be consistently but somewhat narrowly ahead. There were no exit polls although a YouGov post-election poll was published shortly after the polls closed. For the history of the campaign itself see Scottish independence referendum, 2014, Yes Scotland, and Better Together (campaign).

The Smith Commission was announced by Prime Minister David Cameron on 19 September 2014 in the wake of the 'No' vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. The establishment of the commission was part of the process of fulfilling The Vow made by the leaders of the three main unionist parties during the last days of the referendum campaign. The Vow promised the devolution of more powers from the Parliament of the United Kingdom to the Scottish Parliament in the event of a No vote.

This page lists the public opinion polls that have been conducted in relation to Scottish independence. A referendum on the subject was held on 18 September 2014. For the history on the subject itself see Scottish independence.

ScotCen Social Research is the Scottish branch of the United Kingdom’s largest centre for independent social research, NatCen Social Research.

References

  1. ↑ "Scottish Social Attitudes Survey". Economic and Social Data Service. Archived from the original on 10 March 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  2. ↑ "Nationalists take extra care choosing day to fit the bill". Edinburgh Evening News. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  3. ↑ Carrell, Severin (14 January 2010). "Scots want greater tax-raising powers for Holyrood, survey finds". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
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