The Scottish cringe is a cultural cringe relating to Scotland, and claimed to exist by politicians and commentators.[1][2][3]
These Scottish cultural commentators claim that a sense of cultural inferiority is felt by many Scots, particularly in relation to a perceived dominance of English culture, partly due to the importance of London, within the United Kingdom, and consequently a sense of Scottish resentment and underachievement. The cringe is said to manifest as:
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Opposition has been voiced to the idea that this sense is widespread, with some commentators even going so far as to suggest that quite the opposite is true. Scottish historian Niall Ferguson, in a piece in the Daily Telegraph,[5] put forward a position that in fact:
| “ | We regard it as only right and proper that the world sees in the New Year by singing a Scottish song. We take it for granted that half the broadcasters on the BBC are Scotsmen. We don't envy the English. We pity them. There is no Scottish cringe, in the Australian fashion. There is only the Scottish swagger - a swagger inspired by the authentically Calvinist certainty that we and only we (by which of course I mean we White Aggressively Scottish Protestant males) are the Elect. | ” |
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—Niall Ferguson |
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He then however goes on to list what he sees as "realities" that call into question this "superiority complex" and proposes that "Scotland should go into liquidation".
The phrase "Scottish swagger" was repeated in February 2009 by journalist Dominic Lawson in The Independent. [6]