Studying English People in Scotland

Abstract

At the present time following devolution, when there is a growing sense of ‘being Scottish’ for Scots, what is it like to be English in Scotland? This is a major issue in Scotland, yet very little research has been done. English people interviewed for this book relate how anti-English attitudes can impinge on their daily lives. English people who have settled in Scotland increasingly identify with their adopted country, but small differences in the way they are treated can make them feel like permanent outsiders, making it impossible to integrate even if they want to. There is no overt racism as with some other minorities, but hearing an English accent raises a moral panic among some Scots. Reinforcing the myths and stereotypes of the English as colonial invaders, an English accent – and especially a middle-class southern one – was shown to set off powerful anxieties about national weakness, political dominations, economic colonisation and cultural insecurity on the part of Scots.