The Scottish referendum attracted a record breaking turnout at the polling station, 85%, marking the highest turnout of any election in the United Kingdom since suffrage began.
But there now appears to be a lack of passion amongst the people of Scotland for the current debate over the UK's membership of Europe.
Feels like #Scotland isn't/doesn't really want to touch the #EUreferendum at the moment — it's all about down south #eton boys #Brexit
— Bina (@030594dill) May 15, 2016
Gary Dunion, a Yes campaign activist and Scottish Green Party candidate in the 2016 elections told Sputnik that the EU referendum and Scottish independence referendum are "incomparable."
"The independence referendum was talked about in every workplace and every pub, and people flocked to public meetings and to new, online media to discuss it. None of that is happening now," Dunion told Sputnik.
Speaking to Sputnik on Wednesday, Jonathon Shafi, co-founder of Scotland's Radical Independence Campaign, who has worked with socialist movements across Europe, suggested that there's less interest in Scotland as — as the polls suggest — the vote in Scotland is easy to predict.
"Unlike in England, in Scotland the result is essentially known — it will be a Remain vote. In England where UKIP et al have more traction it has a more dynamic undercurrent," Mr Shafi told Sputnik.
Right-Wing Rhetoric Off-Putting
Election results over the past several years in Scotland suggest that Scottish voters tend to hold more left of center views than the rest of the UK.
'Scotsman' poll shows 54% support for Scotland staying in the EU and 32% support for Brexit. One month to go…
— JOHN NICOLSON M.P. (@MrJohnNicolson) May 23, 2016
Mr Shafi suggested that many in Scotland find the right-wing nature of arguments on both sides of the EU referendum off-putting.
"Both sides are right-wing — UKIP on the one hand and the big business on the other. Added to this, both sides use 'Project Fear' methods of mobilization. This puts people off."
Gary Dunion suggested that the political involvement in Scotland only really took off during the independence referendum when the rhetoric moved toward the left of center.
"The pro-independence campaign launched with a fairly right-wing strategy, using big-business voices to assure the people that independence wouldn't harm their profits. It was only after it took a sharp leftward turn — thanks in large part to the success of the grassroots Radical Independence Conference — that enthusiasm and passion picked up," Dunion said.
Can Scotland hope to be a truly independent nation with most of our laws still made by EU? 🇪🇺#YesScot #Brexit #SNP pic.twitter.com/NAt17wrI8G
— David Hamilton (@Daibhidh92) May 13, 2016
And Jonathon Shafi said that engagement in the current EU debate could pick up, "if the left was well-organized around an internationalist, anti-austerity, anti-TTIP, pro-democracy out position. As it stands that terrain [the Leave campaign] is almost entirely dominated by the right."
This is not an opinion shared across the board by political commentators in Scotland, however.
'Electoral Exhaustion'
Duncan Hothersall, a prominent 'No' campaigner and editor of Scottish Labour Party blog Labour Hame, said he didn't believe there to be that big an ideological divide between Scotland and England.
"Scots aren't significantly more left of center than people elsewhere in the UK. I don't think levels of engagement are to do with the arguments being put forward. People aren't listening to the arguments," Hothersall told Sputnik.
He suggested that Scottish voters were more likely suffering from "electoral exhaustion," having had the referendum in 2014, UK General Election in 2015 and Scottish Parliament elections in May of this year.
Do the voter's of Scotland really want a Republic with Nicola Sturgeon having her strings pulled by Brussels #brexit pic.twitter.com/IrEgV341M9
— Jim Kerr (@JimKerr1973) May 14, 2016
Duncan also questioned the idea that the result is pre-determined:
"Many people believe the result to be a foregone conclusion in Scotland; I don't. I think the lack of interest has more to do with electoral exhaustion, wariness of referenda following indyref, and the lack of engagement from political figures. The First Minister [Nicola Sturgeon] has barely mentioned it."
Could Scotland Tip the Vote?
Recent polls have suggested that support for the EU is so high in Scotland that it may tip the vote towards remaining in the EU, despite a leave vote across the rest of the United Kingdom.
Gary Dunion believes that this could be due to a dislike of the Conservative party within Scotland, who currently hold only 1 of the 59 Scottish seats in Westminster.
"Because both the In and Out campaigns are led by right-wing forces — Cameron and Osborne in the former case and Boris Johnson and UKIP in the latter — it is difficult to present any kind of positive, left-wing vision on either side," Dunion said.
Nevertheless, I believe the vast majority of left-wing voters will support remaining in the EU, in the knowledge that our government is a radically right-wing one and therefore our prospects for advancing, or at least defending, social justice are better in cooperation with other EU countries than with an unfettered, isolated Cameron or Johnson government outside the EU."
