Devolution and Constitutional Change, 2001

The principal aim was to establish whether initial reactions to the introduction of devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland enhanced or otherwise the legitimacy of (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) the new institutions themselves. In particular, the project aimed to test three competing theories about the possible impact of devolution on public opinion together with an alternative view that sees trends in national identity and in attitudes towards the political system as being primarily determined by social change. The theories are as follows:<br> <br> <i>1. The integrative view</i><br> - Demands for complete independence should fall<br> - Willingness to acknowledge a British identity should rise<br> - Support for the UK political system should rise<br> <br> <i>2. The disintegrative view</i><br> - Rise in support for English devolution<br> - Politicians increasingly putting their part of the UK first<br> - More variance between the territories in public policy<br> <br> <i>3. The conditional view</i><br> - The impact of devolution will differ between the three devolved territories<br> <br> <i>4. Social change</i><br> - Those who have experienced geographical mobility, higher levels of education and access to the internet are less likely to adopt a British national identity<br> - The decline in British national identity is a generational phenomenon<br> - National identity is influenced by short-term developments and any fall in the incidence of British identity occurs more or less evenly across all age groups/cohorts<br> <br> Survey based research on national identity and attitudes towards the political system following the introduction of devolution was conducted in the four component territories of the United Kingdom, and a combined dataset created. The platform surveys were:<br> <br> British Social Attitudes Survey 2001<br> Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey 2001<br> Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2001<br> Welsh Election Study 2001<br> <br>