By Dr Tim Oliver, Director of the Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs, Loughborough University London. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What new polling reveals about the contrasting worldviews of voters in England and Scotland and their implications for the UK\u2019s place in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEngland\u2019s World: UK Foreign Policy in a Multi-Nation State\u201d (2025), John Denham, Conor Gaughan and I explore whether \u201cUK foreign policy\u201d is an expression of England\u2019s political dominance within the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the UK presents itself internationally as a unitary state, it is a multi-nation union in which power and representation are unevenly distributed. England makes up over 80 per cent of the UK\u2019s population and MPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With no separate English parliament, Westminster governs England directly, and through the Royal Prerogative the UK government controls most foreign and defence policy. Devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have little formal role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This produces an Anglo-centric idea of Britain, in which England\u2019s interests are often assumed to be those of the whole UK. Brexit made this starkly visible when England\u2019s Leave majority took the UK out of the EU despite Remain votes in Scotland and Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our article begins by exploring how foreign policy issues become domestic political battlegrounds. This happens when foreign issues are seen to affect everyday life; when they connect with questions of national identity; when they divide the electorate; when they test government competence; and when political movements exploit them for electoral advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brexit met all five of these requirements. For many English voters, questions of sovereignty, immigration and economic control became the prism through which they viewed Britain\u2019s relationship with the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, while a post-referendum vision of a \u201cGlobal Britain\u201d promised a confident, outward-looking nation, we found limited public enthusiasm for this idea. Polling in 2023 and 2024 in England and Scotland showed voters in both nations in favour of pragmatic cooperation, economic resilience and regulated trade over extremes of unilateral protectionism or deregulated globalisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crucially, the data reveals three broad dimensions shaping public attitudes: sovereignty, Atlanticism, and the UK\u2019s role in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
English respondents show stronger sovereigntist and Atlanticist leanings, meaning they favour national independence and close ties with the United States. Meanwhile Scottish respondents are more positive about cooperation with Europe and more sceptical about nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Across both nations, the divide between Leave and Remain voters remains a powerful predictor of opinion. Former Leave voters support independence and economic nationalism, whereas Remainers lean towards multilateralism, climate leadership and humanitarian engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We conclude that to understand UK foreign policy we must understand the UK\u2019s internal politics. England\u2019s structural and political dominance defines the UK\u2019s global stance, even when its preferences diverge from those of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Differences of opinion over Europe, nuclear weapons and climate change could open constitutional and political divisions. A foreign policy made \u201cthrough English eyes\u201d carries implications not only for Britain\u2019s place in the world but also for the future cohesion of the Union itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n