The myth of meritocratic Scotland

Alex Salmond argues that Scotland has unique values, distinct from those in the rest of the UK, that can be best expressed in an independent country. A new poll from the Sunday Times today shows Salmond on course to get his wish. But do Scots really hold different values to the rest of the UK?

This is an edited extract from the forthcoming book ‘Sex, Lies and the Ballot Box: 50 things you need to know about political elections’, edited by Philip Cowley and Robert Ford, to be published by Biteback in October. Click here to pre-order it from The Spectator Bookshop.

Successive election manifestos from political parties in Scotland have argued that Scots have different values to those in the rest of the UK. More meritocratic, more communitarian, more supportive of state intervention in the economy and EU membership, Scots are portrayed as a left-leaning social democratic foil to an essentially conservative, Euro-sceptic class-bound England.