1. Scottish Graduate Migration: barriers to belonging? Ross Bond School of Social and Political Studies University of Edinburgh

2. Scotland’s demography: 3 key features Long-term projection of population decline and ageing, despite recent reversal of net out-migration While immigration policy is ‘reserved’ to Westminster, Scottish Executive has taken steps to encourage immigration, and is supported by a broad political consensus But some aspects of public attitudes to in-migrants and ‘minorities’ suggest less welcoming popular opinion

3. Focusing on ‘the English’ as Scotland’s largest ‘minority’ 2001 Census: 8% of population of Scotland born in England 2003 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey: only a minority (44%) would definitely or probably accept that English people living in Scotland can lay claim to a Scottish identity 2003 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey: 80% have English friend or family member, but most think that primary loyalty of English-born in Scotland is to England. A third also see in-migration of English born as threat to Scotland’s identity

4. Student and graduate migration to and from Scotland: secondary data Around 1/4 of all students at higher education institutions in Scotland come from other parts of the UK or from overseas 6 months after graduation, 80% of employed graduates from Scottish HEIs were working in Scotland This figure rises to 90% of those who originated from Scotland but only 1/3 of those from other parts of the UK and less than 1/4 of those from other EU states 2001 Census showed a net out-migration from Scotland of more than 4,000 degree-qualified people to other parts of UK in the preceding 12 months

5. A Case Study of the University of Edinburgh 2000 cohort: patterns of migration 70% of respondents who originated from Scotland were living there 5 years after graduation (in 2005), but 79% of those from outside Scotland had left Around 1/7 were ‘delayed’ migrants and a similar proportion ‘return’ migrants

6. A Case Study of the University of Edinburgh 2000 cohort: motivations for migration Opportunities, Connections and Expectations Connections: families and relationships are most important, but so too are affinity and belonging Positive connections with Scotland: adult ‘socialization’ Scottish partner or family employment in Scottish institutions rural and urban environments friendliness of people

7. Barriers to Belonging?: identity-based exclusion ‘ INT: And do you feel Scottish now or would you say you feel at all Scottish? RES: No. I don ’ t think I would ever really feel Scottish. I think because I ’ ve got, well with my dad being Welsh and things, I feel British probably more than anything else. And it ’ s kind of weird but I think part of the reason I would never really feel Scottish is because I don ’ t really think other people would ever really see me as Scottish, you know, it just wouldn ’ t really. So I still really think of myself as being from Yorkshire but British. But I think Scotland is home now I suppose ’

8. Barriers to Belonging?: identity-based exclusion ‘ I always, maybe it ’ s strange but I always get annoyed when, not in this context obviously, but like when people accentuate the fact that you ’ re different you know, that you ’ re Norwegian, you ’ re not quite Scottish and it ’ s like, well I live here – that ’ s Scottish enough for me ’. ‘… I never really strongly thought of myself as English, because both my parents were Scottish so obviously I was Scottish as well. That seemed fairly self-evident to me when I was little. Since I ’ ve come here I have modified that slightly just because I think, because of other people ’ s assumptions, because when you speak in an English accent then you ’ re English ’

9. Barriers to Belonging?: discrimination-based exclusion The complexity of ‘Anglophobia’: experience of discrimination varies between individuals and groups Social class and regional origins are significant Experiences of discrimination need not undermine connections

10. Barriers to Belonging?: discrimination-based exclusion ‘ That ’ s the one thing that when you were asking about where you feel more at home, that ’ s the one thing that slightly holds me back from feeling completely at home in Edinburgh, and that I would seriously think about if I was going to move up there. Because I did feel like, not with everyone at all obviously, but quite often actually there was a slight antagonism towards English people. And it might be partly because I ’ ve got quite a posh English accent, I don ’ t know. I think friends of mine who were from Northern England didn ’ t have such difficult times ’

11. Conclusions Barriers to belonging may place Scotland at a ‘net disadvantage’ Many features of Scotland make it an attractive destination for in-migration and enable positive connections to be fostered But ‘belonging’ needs to be further facilitated if the Scottish Executive’s programme of ‘demographic nationalism’ is to succeed