Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2017: attitudes data

This survey provides an important source of data on attitudes to government, the economy and public services over this period.


4. Importance of voting

The Scottish Social Attitudes ( SSA) Survey 2017 asked participants questions about voting in elections:

  • How important do you think it is to vote in Scottish Parliament elections?
  • How important do you think it is to vote in UK General elections?
  • How important do you think it is to vote in Local Council elections?

In this chapter we present headline findings at a glance, and highlight statistically significant differences in views between different groups in the population.

How important is it to vote in elections?

Figure 8 shows that 92% of people said that voting in Scottish Parliament elections was 'very important' or 'fairly important'. For local council elections, this figure was 88% while for UK general elections it was 87%.

Over three-quarters (80%) of people said that voting was very or fairly important in all three elections while 5% of people said voting was not very or not at all important in all of the elections listed.

When these questions were first asked in 2005, 82% of people said that voting in Scottish Parliamentary elections was 'very important' or 'fairly important'. For local elections this figure was 82% while for UK general elections it was 85%.

In 2005, 74% of people said that voting was very or fairly important in all three elections while 9% of people said voting was not very or not at all important in all of the elections listed.

Figure 8 How important do you think it is to vote in Scottish Parliament, UK General and Local Council elections? (2017, %)
Figure 8 How important do you think it is to vote in Scottish Parliament, UK General and Local Council elections? (2017, %)

Variations in attitudes between subgroups

Views on whether voting in elections was important varied between a number of social groups, based on statistical significance. These are listed here. Variables with no statistically significant differences are listed in Annex A.

92% of people said that voting in Scottish Parliament elections was 'very important' or 'fairly important'. This varied by subgroup as follows [20] :

Voting in Scottish Parliament elections was 'very important' or 'fairly important'

Subgroups %
Interest in politics
Any interest in politics 95
'No interest at all' in politics 66
Support for a political party
Supported or felt close to a political party 97
Didn't feel close to a particular party 83
Living Comfortably
Living comfortably on present income 95
Struggling on their present income 84
Political affiliation
SNP supporter 97
Other 90
Tenure
Home owners 95
Private renters 90
Social renters 86
Educational Qualification
Degree or equivalent 97
No formal qualifications 91
Main Income Source
Wages or private income 93
State benefits 87

87% of people said that voting in UK general elections was 'very important' or 'fairly important'. This varied by subgroup as follows [21] :

Voting in UK general elections was 'very important' or 'fairly important'

Subgroups %
Interest in politics
Any interest in politics 91
'No interest at all' in politics 54
Support for a political party
Supported or felt close to a political party 92
Didn't feel close to a particular party 77
SIMD Quintiles
Least Deprived 94
2 92
3 91
4 75
Most Deprived 82
Living Comfortably
Living comfortably on present income 91
Struggling on their present income 75
Educational Qualification
Degree or equivalent 95
No formal qualifications 84
Tenure
Home owners 91
Private renters 84
Social renters 78
Economic Activity
Education or full time training 88
In work or waiting to take up work 87
Unemployed 72
Retired 93
National identity
More Scottish than British 83
Equally Scottish and British 90
More British than Scottish 95
Main Income Source
Wages or private income 89
State benefits 80

88% of people said that voting in Local Council elections was 'very important' or 'fairly important'. This varied by subgroup as follows [22] :

Voting in Local Council elections was 'very important' or 'fairly important'

Subgroups %
Interest in politics
Any interest in politics 91
'No interest at all' in politics 63
Support for a political party
Supported or felt close to a political party 93
Didn't feel close to a particular party 78
Economic Activity
Education or full time training 82
In work or waiting to take up work 89
Unemployed 73
Retired 92
Religious Identity
Religious 92
Non-religious 85
Main Income Source
Wages or private income 90
State benefits 81
Educational Qualification
Degree or equivalent 93
No formal qualifications 86
Living Comfortably
Living comfortably on present income 90
Struggling on their present income 81
Tenure
Home owners 91
Private renters 85
Social renters 84

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