Our first task is to capture at two time points the ways in which identities and attitudes alter in the population at large under the impact of constitutional change. The baseline will be as close as possible to the setting up of the Scottish Parliament (1999/2000); and the second measurement will be made around the period of the second elections in 2003. We will then have two crucial benchmarks against which to assess the impact of constitutional change.

Over the years we have worked closely with the premier survey organisation in the UK, National Centre for Social Research (NCSR). We shall design modules for inclusion at the two time-points in the British Social Attitudes Survey which is UK-wide. NCSR has agreed to carry out this work in line with longstanding arrangements with The Leverhulme Trust, and appropriate calculations have been entered in the budget which accompanies this application.

These two surveys will provide a vital backdrop measuring change in the general population, against which we can better evaluate the other elements in the programme. They will also allow us to model different dimensions of territorial identity in the context of attitudes to constitutional change as well as political attitudes and behaviour. Our team has state-of-the-art technical and quantitative expertise in this area, notably in the skills of Professor Lindsay Paterson and Paula Surridge, as well as NCSR, on multi-level statistical modelling of social and political behaviour and attitudes. This work is reflected in recent books on the Scottish and British electorates.

We shall measure and analyse change in such key indicators as:

• the extent to which various groups and individuals of different nationalities define themselves nationally vis-a-vis the others, and/or in terms of 'being British', and the meanings they attach to these identifications;

• whether different nationalities 'nest' themselves within Britishness, or equate this state identity with Englishness;

• the impact of European monetary union and greater European integration on changing identities;

• the relationship between national identity and ethno-racial attitudes, both in the context of support for, or opposition to, political independence;

• whether and how national identities relate to support for different policies, for instance in the areas of education and health, which will be controlled separately by Westminster and Holyrood.

Between the two benchmarks, there will also be a UK general election, the first to be fought in the context of devolution, and one in which issues of European integration are likely to be central. The three elections in 1999, 2001/2 and 2003 offer milestones so that we can see how the people of Scotland and England are adapting to rapidly changing identity contexts. We intend to be part of a consortium seeking support from funders other than Leverhulme for British and Scottish Election Studies in 2001/2. In 1997 together with the Centre for Elections and Social Trends (CREST) we were successful in obtaining ESRC funding for both the general election and Scottish referendum studies.

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Nations and Regions research programme
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EDINBURGH EH1 1LZ, Scotland
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Last modified: 7 March 2005
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