Abstract
This chapter aims to show how contemporary Scottish nationalist sentiments can be related to transformations in economic and social structures. We begin by providing an historical context for how the idea of Scottish national autonomy developed within the context of the British state. We then discuss the effect of economic changes on the political identities and values of a Scottish working class, whose livelihoods, up to the latter part of the twentieth century, were intimately connected to a ‘British’ industrial economy and welfare state. Finally, we draw on survey data to examine how support for Scottish independence and for the Scottish National Party relates to differences by national identification and social class. We argue for the need to acknowledge both the distinct role and interests of the Scottish middle classes in sustaining Scottish nationhood as well as a working class whose support for a British Labour Party has changed significantly as a consequence of deindustrialisation.
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Mann, R., Fenton, S. (2017). The Nationalist Alternative: Nation and Class in Scotland. In: Nation, Class and Resentment. Palgrave Politics of Identity and Citizenship Series. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-46674-7_5
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