Scottish social attitudes: attitudes to government and political engagement, 2016

3. The Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Social Attitudes ( SSA) Survey 2016 asked participants questions about the Scottish Parliament:

• Does having a Scottish Parliament give Scotland a stronger voice in the UK?
• Does having a Scottish Parliament give ordinary people more say in how Scotland is governed?

In this chapter we present headline findings at a glance, and list subgroups who gave varying answers, based on statistical significance.

Does having a Scottish Parliament give Scotland a stronger voice in the UK?

In 2016, the proportion of people who said that having a Scottish Parliament was giving Scotland a stronger voice in the UK was 71%. This figure is the highest recorded since the question was first asked in 2000. 3% of people said having a Scottish Parliament was giving Scotland a weaker voice in the UK while just under a quarter (24%) said it was making no difference

The proportion of people saying that having a Scottish Parliament was giving Scotland a stronger voice in the UK has varied over time but has been increasing in recent years. At its lowest in 2004, only 35% of people said having a Scottish Parliament was giving Scotland a stronger voice in the UK.

The proportion of people saying that having a Scottish Parliament makes no difference in giving Scotland a stronger voice in the UK has been broadly declining since 2004.

Figure 6 Does having a Scottish Parliament give Scotland a stronger or weaker voice in the UK? (1999-2016, %) ^{[4] [5]}

Does having a Scottish Parliament give ordinary people more say in how Scotland is governed?

The proportion of people who said the Scottish Parliament is giving ordinary people more say in how Scotland is governed was 59% in 2016. This percentage had remained relatively stable since the previous year's figure of 61%. 37% said it made no difference and 3% said it gave Scotland less say.

Between 2000 and 2006, more people said the Scottish Parliament was making no difference in giving ordinary people a say in how Scotland was governed. For two consecutive years in 2015 and 2016, the majority of people said the Scottish Parliament was giving ordinary people more of a say in how Scotland is governed.

In 1999, when the question was asked prospectively, 64% expected the Scottish Parliament to give ordinary people more say in how Scotland is governed. While the broad trend is increasing (by 28 percentage points since 2004), the level anticipated in 1999 has not yet been reached.

Figure 7 Does having a Scottish Parliament give ordinary people more say in how Scotland is governed? (1999-2016, %) ^{[4] [5]}

Variations in attitudes between subgroups

Views on whether having a Scottish Parliament is giving Scotland a stronger voice in the UK, and giving ordinary people more say in how Scotland is governed, 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.

71% said having a Scottish Parliament was giving Scotland a stronger voice in the UK. In subgroups, this varied as follows:

• Political affiliation - 83% of SNP supporters said having a Scottish Parliament was giving Scotland a stronger voice in the UK compared to 65% of non- SNP supporters.
• Interest in politics - 74% of those with any interest in politics said having a Scottish Parliament was giving Scotland a stronger voice compared to 49% of those with 'no interest at all'.
• Tenure - 82% of private tenants said having a Scottish Parliament was giving Scotland a stronger voice compared to 72% of home owners.
• Educational qualifications - 78% of those with a degree or equivalent said having a Scottish Parliament was giving Scotland a stronger voice compared to 54% of those with no formal qualifications.
• National identity -75% of those who identified as more Scottish than British thought the Scottish Parliament was giving Scotland a stronger voice compared to 65% of those who identified as equally Scottish and British.
• Urban-rural area - 72% of those living in urban areas thought the Scottish Parliament was giving Scotland a stronger voice compared to 66% of those living in rural areas.

59% said having a Scottish Parliament was giving ordinary people more say in how Scotland is governed. In subgroups, this varied as follows:

• Political affiliation - 75% of SNP supporters said having a Scottish Parliament was giving ordinary people more say in how Scotland is governed compared to 50% of non- SNP supporters.
• Interest in politics - 62% of those with any interest in politics said having a Scottish Parliament was giving ordinary people more say in how Scotland is governed compared to 34% of those with 'no interest at all'
• Urban-rural area - 61% of those living in urban areas said having a Scottish Parliament was giving ordinary people more say in how Scotland is governed compared to 51% of those living in rural areas.
• National identity - 65% of those who identified as more Scottish than British thought the Scottish Parliament was giving ordinary people more of a say compared to a half (50%) of those who identified as more British than Scottish and just under a half (49%) of those who identified as equally Scottish and British.