With little sense of irony regarding the messages in advertising, The Times tries to make sure Scots don’t start thinking they’re better, ie not Nazis or fascists, like the ones all over the MSM apparently lining up next to Glasgow Cathedral:

It’s an undeniably unsettling image which therefore clearly needs a bit of context. How many far-right extremists are there in Scotland and how does that compare with England & Wales?

Membership details are not available but referrals to Prevent are the best proxy. Prevent is the UK government’s early-intervention programme designed to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It identifies individuals who may be vulnerable to radicalisation.¹

In England and Wales, from Home Office data, year to March 2025), 1,798 out of 8,778 referrals to Prevent were for “Extreme Right-Wing” (ERW) concerns.²

All things being equal if the above mentality is as common in Scotland, you’d expect there to be around 180. There were 62 (38% of 162 referrals).³

So, extreme Right-Wing elements are almost three times more common in England & Wales than in Scotland.

Sources:

1. https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2024/12/05/prevent-and-channel-factsheet-2024/
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/individuals-referred-to-prevent-to-march-2025/individuals-referred-to-and-supported-through-the-prevent-programme-april-2024-to-march-2025
3. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwypgqp57n1o