View from the Street: Can the next Scottish Government deliver a dose of confidence to banish the ‘Scottish cringe’
Published
John Cumming
“Devolution is much more than just finding Scottish solutions to Scottish problems. It must be about creating Scottish success too.”
Those were the words used by Labour first minister Jack McConnell when he addressed his party’s 2004 conference in Inverness, setting out his ambition “to end the Scottish cringe”.
Eight years previously, Trainspotting had exploded onto our cinema screens along with its famous proclamation of “it’s shite being Scottish”, four words encapsulating an era during which Scotland winced at its own reflection.
McConnell was right to tackle that affliction, if ultimately unsuccessful. Today, the cringe lingers on, at least in part.
We are nation which still lacks confidence, with a bad habit for occasional self-loathing. This is perhaps unsurprising given the deep-rooted challenges we face, with growth stagnating, inequality persisting and household budgets getting increasingly tighter. All of which are problems that our politicians seem unable to solve.
However, we mustn’t allow ourselves to settle into a position where we can’t see the wheat for the chaff.
Across Scotland, we have businesses doing incredible things, universities finding solutions to major global challenges, NHS staff providing world-class care, artists breaking boundaries and confident, bright young people learning in our schools.
We are living in the early days of a green industrial revolution, which has the potential to transform our economy and the fortunes of communities across the country. Taking all of this into account, there’s a lot for modern Scotland to be positive about.
The Scottish cringe is a strange and multifaceted concept – intertwined with our sense of identity, the health of our economy and the state of our communities.
The ‘cultural cringe’ is a key piece of the jigsaw which, like many other challenges, is not unique to Scotland. New Zealand, for example, offers an interesting case study.
For many years, Kiwis existed under the shadow of other major global powers, lacking a distinct identity and living with a sense that anything it produced could not compete on the world stage. The result? Many of New Zealand’s brightest citizens left to find opportunities oversees, convinced that they couldn’t fulfil their potential at home.
In recent years, New Zealand has begun to correct this, with the country’s thriving film and TV industry bringing a renewed sense of confidence, economic opportunities and global attention to this nation of just over five million people.
Scotland, too, has made progress. The shortbread tin image of Scotland is beginning to fade, replaced by a thriving, bold and inventive arts scene which is doing more than any government could to sell Scotland to the world.
Last month, I spent a weekend at the Tiree Music Festival where night after night young, Scottish musicians proudly carried the torch for a tradition which stretches back generations, reinventing it for a modern audience and having huge success in the process.
This week, I’ve wandered around the Pittenweem Arts Festival, which puts a focus on supporting emerging artists based in Scotland. Meanwhile, across the Forth, Edinburgh is hosting the world’s largest performance arts festival.
With unusually regular sunshine and creativity oozing from every part of Scotland, we’d be forgiven for having a certain spring in our step this summer. We need to exude this sense of confidence all year round.
Believing in who we are – and what we’re capable of – is vital for Scotland’s economic success. I’ve had many conversations with business leaders, diplomats and politicians who, when they go abroad, are met with admiration and enthusiasm for what’s going on in Scotland. When they return home, they’re met with a narrow perception of what Scotland is, what it can achieve, and a lingering miserabilism which seems to haunt much of our economic and political discourse.
The next Scottish Government needs to work hard to address the underlying obstacles holding this country back, to give Scotland the self-assuredness it needs to sell itself to the world. Broader society also has a role to play, in telling the positive story of our nation.
It’s great being Scottish. No one can say that but us.