Devolved governments seen to favour some regions

People in Scotland and Wales often view governments as favouring wealthier, urban and central areas over rural and less-developed regions, a study suggests.

An image of the Palace of Westminister he Palace of Westminster is the seat of the British Parliament in London. The building complex is also known as the Houses of Parliament and located in the City of Westminster.

Researchers used public opinion monitors and surveys to collect the views of 1,756 people – 1,028 in Scotland and 728 in Wales – to assess whether people perceive that Westminster and the devolved government’s political decisions favour certain areas over others.

Devolved power

Devolved governments may be viewed as less biased than the UK Government, but they are often seen as favouring Edinburgh and Cardiff, as well as more urban and affluent areas, the research found.

The research assessed to what extent the governments favoured rich over poor areas, urban over rural areas, and the central areas – including the Cities of London, Edinburgh ad Cardiff – over peripheral regions.

They study also examined if these views are associated with support for devolution, independence and EU membership.

Urban areas

More than 80 per cent of those surveyed in both Scotland and Wales see the UK government as favouring richer areas. In contrast, the Scottish and Welsh governments are viewed as more balanced with around 43 per cent in Scotland, and just under 50 per cent in Wales seeing their government as favouring affluent places.

While a clear majority still saw the UK government as favouring urban areas at just over 60 per cent, the devolved governments are also viewed as having a bias to the urban centres by over half of respondents.

Political views

A striking result also emerged in relation to a perceived divide between the UK’s capital and its rural areas, with the UK government overwhelmingly seen as favouring the metropolitan core of London, with 78 per cent of Scottish and 80 per cent of Welsh respondents identifying a centre bias.

However, a majority also believe that the Scottish and Welsh governments favour their own capital regions, with 53 per cent in Scotland believing Edinburgh is favoured over other areas and 67 per cent in Wales seeing Cardiff as the priority.

Devolution is often seen as a way of bringing power closer to people and reducing territorial inequalities. But this research shows that, while devolved governments are generally viewed as less biased than the UK Government, many citizens still feel that power and attention are concentrated in capital cities and more advantaged areas.
Following the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd elections, these findings are especially relevant. In Scotland, where the SNP remains in government, questions about devolution and Scotland’s constitutional future continue to be central to political debate. In Wales, where there has been a complete change in government, there is a new opportunity to consider how devolved power is used and how different parts of the country are represented. In both cases, addressing perceptions of territorial unfairness within Scotland and Wales is likely to be important for public trust in devolved government.

The study also found that perceptions of UK Government bias are associated with greater support for decentralisation and EU membership, whereas perceptions of devolved government bias are associated with lower support for these reforms.

In Scotland and Wales, views that the state-wide government favours privileged areas are associated with stronger pro-EU attitudes, with an average difference of around 15 percentage points when the UK government is perceived as biased towards affluent areas.

The findings are from a research project from 2023 to 2025 supported by the British Academy and Leverhulme Trust. The surveys in Scotland and Wales were conducted in December 2023 by Deltapoll, an independent public opinion consultancy

The study is published in the journal Parliamentary Affairs.

Devolved power

Urban areas

Political views

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