Uncomfortable Answers: When Political Science Becomes the Story
| Date | 01 December 2019 |
| DOI | 10.1177/2041905819891365 |
| Published date | 01 December 2019 |
| Author | Ailsa Henderson |
8 POLITICAL INSIGHT • DECEMBER 2019
In late October 2019, a few days before
the UK had been scheduled to leave
the European Union, findings from
the latest Future of England survey
were released. The survey, conducted
by academics at Edinburgh and Cardiff,
has been running since 2011 and
explores attitudes to English identity and
governance.
This year’s study conrmed a number of
growing trends. We found that Remain and
Leave voters are highly polarised around the
likely consequences of staying in or leaving
the EU. A majority on either side of the
divide said that the break-up of the union,
undermining faith in democracy, protests
in which members of the public get badly
injured and violence directed toward MPs
were ‘worth it’ to achieve their desired Brexit
outcome. The ndings were widely reported
in the press but caused something of a storm.
In this short piece we will look at our research
but also the reaction to them.
Uncomfortable Answers:
When Political Science
Becomes the Story
When an academic survey found that many British voters
are comfortable with the risk of political violence, it sparked a
media storm. Academics were accused of chasing headlines and
encouraging social unrest. Ailsa Henderson reports on the study and
the reaction to her work.
English identity
Since 2011, the FoES team has repeatedly
found evidence of two characteristics in
the English electorate: Euroscepticism
and devo-anxiety, or dissatisfaction with
the existing devolution settlements.
Euroscepticism and devo-anxiety are linked
to each other and to a sense of English
identity. The more a person prioritises a
sense of English national identity, the more
devo-anxious and Eurosceptic they are. We
link this to a perceived absence of political
voice but have also shown how national
identity relates to political attitudes in
different ways in different parts of the
British state. Attitudes held by English
identifiers in England tend to be held by
British identifiers in Scotland and Wales.
Results over the past two years have also
Political Insight December 2019.indd 8 05/11/2019 10:15
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