Scottish National Party Representations of Scottishness and Scotland

This article examines the representations of Scottishness and Scotland expressed within the Scottish National party (SNP) manifestos issued for British general elections from 1970 to 2005. It illustrates that while Scotland has remained a constant, Scottishness has been transformed from being somewhat ethnic and occasionally exclusive to being now civic and inclusive, with the territorial aspect almost solely emphasised. The article begins with a discussion of how manifestos are useful in illustrating such changes and then moves to the temporal analysis. It closes with a consideration of the political connotations of the changes.