Scottish Social Attitudes 2019: attitudes to government and political engagement

Findings from the 2019 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey (SSA), conducted between August 2019 and March 2020, on attitudes to government, the economy, the health service, levels of tax and spend, government priorities and political engagement


List of Figures and Tables

Figure 1.1 Key events 1999 to 2010

Table 1.1: Election dates in comparison with SSA fieldwork dates 1999 - 2019

Table 2.1: Trust in Scottish Government and UK Government to work in Scotland's best interests (2019)

Figure 2.1: Trust in Scottish Government and UK Government to work in Scotland's best interests 'just about always' or 'most of the time' (1999-2019)^

Figure 2.2: Trust in the Scottish Government to work in Scotland's best interests by age (2000-2019)

Figure 2.3: Trust in the Scottish Government to work in Scotland's best interests by constitutional preference (2000-2019)

Figure 2.4: Trust in the Scottish Government to work in Scotland's best interests by party identification (2000-2019)

Figure 2.5: Trust in the UK Government by feelings about household income (2000-2019)

Table 2.2: Trust in Scottish Government, UK Government, and local councils to make fair decisions (2019)

Figure 2.6: Proportion who trust Scottish Government, UK Government, and local council to make fair decisions 'a great deal' or 'quite a lot' (2006-2019)

Table 2.3: How good the Scottish Government, UK Government, and local councils are at listening to people before taking decisions (2019)

Figure 2.7: Proportion who feel that the Scottish Government, UK Government, and local councils are 'very good' or 'quite good' at listening to people before they take decisions (2004-2019)

Figure 2.8: Views on whether the Scottish Parliament is giving ordinary people more say in how Scotland is governed, less say, or making no difference (1999-2019)

Figure 2.9: Views on whether the Scottish Parliament is giving Scotland a stronger voice in the UK, a weaker voice, or making no difference (1999-2019)

Figure 2.10: Views on whether the Scottish Parliament has given Scotland a stronger voice in the UK by party identity (2000-2019)

Table 2.4: Perceptions of which political institution has, and ought to have, the most influence over the way Scotland is run (2019)

Figure 2.11: Perceptions of who ought to have the most influence over how Scotland is run (1999-2019)

Figure 2.12: Perceptions of who has the most influence over how Scotland is run (1999-2019)

Table 2.5: Perceptions of who has the most influence over the way Scotland is run by age (2019)

Figure 2.13: Perceptions of who has the most influence over the way Scotland is run by constitutional preference (2000-2019)

Figure 3.1: Attitudes towards the level of taxation and spending (1999-2019)

Table 3.1: 'Government should redistribute income from the better-off to those who are less well off' (2019)

Figure 3.2: Whether agree or disagree that 'Government should redistribute income from the better-off to those who are less well off' (1999-2019)

Table 3.2: What should be the highest priority for the Scottish Government? (2019)

Table 3.3: What should be the Scottish Government's highest priority? (2004-2019)

Table 3.4: All in all, how satisfied or dissatisfied would you say you are with the way in which the National Health Service runs nowadays? (2019)

Figure 3.3: All in all, how satisfied or dissatisfied would you say you are with the way in which the National Health Service runs nowadays? (1999-2019)

Table 3.5: Thinking back over the last twelve months, would you say that since then the standard of the health service in Scotland has increased or fallen? (2019)

Figure 3.4: Whether the standard of the health service has increased, fallen or stayed the same (1999-2019)

Table 3.6 Satisfaction with the health service by views on whether the standard of the health service has increased/stayed the same/fallen in the past year (2019)

Table 3.7: Perceived responsibility for changes in standards in the health service (2019)

Figure 3.5: Perceived responsibility for an increase in standards in the health service (2006-2019)

Figure 3.6: Perceived responsibility for a fall in the standard of the health service (2006-2019)

Table 3.8: Has Scotland's economy got stronger or weaker over the last 12 months? (2019)

Table 3.9: Has the general standard of living in Scotland increased or fallen over the last 12 months? (2019)

Figure 3.7 Has the economy in Scotland got weaker or stronger over the last 12 months? (2004-2019)

Figure 3.8: Has the general standard of living in Scotland increased or fallen over the last 12 months? (1999-2019)

Table 3.10: Perceived responsibility for changes in the economy and standard of living (2019)

Figure 3.9: Perceived responsibility for a weaker economy (2006-2019)

Figure 3.10: Perceived responsibility for a fall in the standard of living (2006-2019)

Figure 3.11: Perceived responsibility for a stronger economy (2006-2019)

Figure 3.12: Perceived responsibility for an increased standard of living (2006-2019)

Table 4.1: How important do you think it is to vote in UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament and local elections (2019)

Figure 4.1: Proportion responding 'very' or 'fairly important': How important do you think it is to vote in UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament and local council elections (2004-2019)

Figure 4.2: Proportion of those who think it 'very' or 'fairly' important to vote in Scottish Parliament elections by age (2004-2019)

Table 4.2: How much, if at all, do you talk with other people about government and politics? (2019)

Figure 4.3: Proportion who talked about politics with others every day (2019)

Table 4.3: Have people done any of the activities listed in the last few years as a way of registering what they thought about an issue (2009, 2013, 2015 & 2019)

Contact

Email: social_research@gov.scot

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