Let me be clear from the outset that by the word ‘Scot’, I mean absolutely anyone who lives here, who regardless of ethnicity or birthplace or other largely physical identifier, has a level of fondness for the place and who wants it to be better than it currently is. I can’t rule out unionists from this group though I think they misjudge the situation. As for Tories, well OK, but that’s quite a stretch given the dominant narrative about Scotland their leaders daily spout and the actions to harm us, their Westminster bosses favour.
So, to the point, the above Times report on Strathclyde University research says:
People in Scotland are more concerned about social justice than their counterparts in England, research suggests.
The British Social Attitudes survey found almost three quarters of people in Scotland believed the distribution of income in the UK was unequal, compared with two thirds in England.
A quarter of people in Scotland said that they believed they lived in an unequal society while one in six held similar views in England.
Chris Deeming, a senior lecturer at Strathclyde University, said: “There is a greater concern about social justice in Scotland than in England, though perhaps the difference is of degree rather than of kind. Certainly, attitudes towards inequality north of the border do not, at present at least, match the profile of Nordic social attitudes.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/scots-worry-more-about-unfairness-than-the-english-g7r0clhsb
That’s good enough for me. What factor might be responsible for us not being being able to, ‘at present at least, match the profile of Nordic social attitudes?’ Independence from the domination of the nasty party and its effects?
I’ve been here before though not so much these days.
Here’s some older stuff on the extent to which ‘we’ are different.
From the Scottish Government in February 2020:
The right to vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections has been extended today, with the passing of the Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representation) Bill. The Bill extends voting rights to all foreign nationals with leave to remain, including all those granted refugee status. It also extends candidacy rights to foreign nationals with indefinite leave to remain, and to those with pre-settled status.This also marks the first time in the history of the Scottish Parliament that a Bill has passed after requiring a super-majority, the support of two thirds of the 129 members elected.
It’s been some time since I listed the many, often small, ways in which Scotland IS different from rUK, dare I say ‘better than’, and is becoming more so with every passing month of SNP administration. Here are some earlier but still quite recent examples:
Scotland IS different as it protects unaccompanied children seeking asylum
It is a matter of life in Scotland and death in England
Scotland IS a different place as its universities offer guaranteed places to care leavers
Abuse of women and the disabled far higher in England than in Scotland
Scottish Muslim students far less likely to report abuse or crime?
Terror de-radicalisation referral rate in Scotland less than one third per capita of that in England
Scientific evidence that Scots tend to be different from the other groups in rUK?
Who said Scots were not more left-wing than those in the rest of the UK?
Different Scotland in the UN report on ‘Workhouse Britain’
Scottish values making oil and gas firms a tad different too?
Are Scotland’s employers also different – more willing to pay a decent wage?
And this from from January 2020:
From the Scottish Government News site today:
‘Young carers going through the immigration process will be able to apply for the Scottish Government’s Young Carer Grant without fear of it risking their immigration status. The change comes following lengthy discussions between the Scottish and UK Governments to amend Home Office regulations. With a payment of £300 the Young Carer Grant helps improve the quality of life for 16, 17 and 18-year-olds who spend an average of 16 hours caring for someone who receives a disability benefit. The Young Carer Grant was introduced in 2019 with an expected investment of £600,000 from the Scottish Government in 2019/20. Current regulations state that due to Home Office restrictions, young carers who are subject to immigration control are not eligible to receive the grant’
https://news.gov.scot/news/young-carer-grant-extended
This list all needs a bit of pruning and tidying but maybe later. We’re an untidy people?
Talking-up Scotland 
Scotland has been depopulated for years. The Westminster Gov unionists took £Billions out of Scotland to fund London S/E. Then kept it secret under the Official
Secrets Act. More people were poorer pro rata because there was higher unemployment.
The illegal Barnett Formula was introduced to do just that. The Tories are funded by the bankers. The Tories unionists support tax evasion and tax havens. Money is constantly drained out of Scotland to pay for Westminster poor, bad decisions. Illegal wars, financial fraud and tax evasion. £Billions every year. Scotland would be so much better off Independent. Not paying for Westminster endless debts, lies and corruption.
Westminster unionists fight with everyone, even themselves. They are lying hypocrites just out to help themselves. They fight with the Chinese, the Russians, the EU especially France. They fight with the US. Biden Irish protocol. They cause illegal wars but do not support migrants. Migration cause by the illegal wars. The Labour Party are suing its own members. Spending £2Million suing each other.
Labour are supposed to be an opposition but agree with Tory policies. There is no end to the corruption and scandal. Killing more people. The SNP are doing what they can. It is quite impressive in the circumstances. Scotland needs Independence to curtail Westminster’s power to illegally cause death and destruction everywhere.
Absolute chaos and mess of Brexit. Austerity killing more people prematurely. The Tories giving tax breaks to banks and the wealthier. Putting the burden on the poorer with NI increases and universal credit cuts.
Scotland never gets the Gov they vote for but are subjected to unionist corruption and poor, bad management. Scotland would thrive better Independently. It would make Scotland a more prosperous, equal, cohesive, happy place and make the world a better place.
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Correct, it’s trillions not billions of £’s the English government have removed from Scotland though.
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The list is fine John, not ‘untidy’.
The tactics of divide and rule really works, and the British nationalists are experts at it. They pitch poor against poorer, low wage against no wage, and in England, along with the myth of immigrants taking jobs etc, sadly, it means that people can be immune to others’ suffering and oppression.
In Scotland, it’s different, the British nationalists try to use other tactics, religion being one of them, but in the main, the Scottish people having been treated appallingly by a bullying neighbour, have more empathy for the downtrodden.
I’m not sure why Scotland is compared to Nordic countries but surely the Scottish government could be said to be more akin to them in terms of social responsibility and
equality, it’s just that Scotland is working within huge constraints of the so called UK, a major difference and hindrance.
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To me it was the “…not, at present at least,…” which stood out in the Nordic reference, almost a prediction that once unshackled from the London social engineering game, that would be the likely direction of travel.
Hardly surprising given Scotland’s history of Labour movements, Unions etc. but perceptions on “income distribution” or “social inequality” are imperfect.
Were the same asked of Norwegians or Danes you would probably get strange looks but much the same results and differences, because the datum is very different.
Democratic backgrounds are the basis for such judgements, and Nordic countries have markedly different democracies to those in the UK.
eg – Try convincing an Englishman the Queen et al should be able to be fired and watch the blood pressure ramp to bursting – Were you to cite that as example of income or social inequality they would claim it as exempt being “tradition”, an alien concept to those in the Nordic countries.
The “me, me, me” from Thatcherism onward will have had some effect on Scots attitudes to wealth, but the community aspect remains deeply embedded, as attitudes to mask wearing compared to England amply demonstrates.
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