Educated engaged more with debate on separation

MORE young and highlyeducated people publicly engaged with the Scottish independence debate than older people or those with fewer qualifications, a survey hasfound.

There has been a large rise in democratic engagement in the last six years and the independence referendum was a big factor, analysis from the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey claims.

Nearly 70 per cent did at least one activity to register what they thought about an issue in 2015 – up from 55 per cent in 2009 – and 31 per cent who registered their views did so in connection with the independence debate.

Younger people were more likely to have taken part in a referendum-related activity – 44 per cent of 18 to 29-yearolds compared with 26 per cent of those 65 or over.

Those with degrees or highers were also more likely to have engaged in at least one referendum activity (34 per cent) compared with 23 per cent of those with standard grades or no qualifications.

Susan Reid, who wrote the report for ScotCen Social Research, said: “A majority think that people can find ways to improve their local area when they want to.

“However, the public’s views on whether people can improve their area varied according to where they lived: 77 per cent of people living in rural areas agreed people could find a way to improve their local area, compared with 56 per cent in urban areas.

“The challenge, then, is to understand the different dynamics of participation that affect different parts of society so that people across Scotland can be supported to become more involved in making a difference to their local community.”