Compared to Scots, Welsh people are more likely to believe your parentage makes you Welsh, but less likely to think that living in Wales does
Earlier in the month YouGov asked Scottish people what makes a person Scottish. The next logical step was to ask the same of other parts of the UK – which is exactly what we’ve done, this time with Wales. So, what do Welsh people think makes a person Welsh? And how do those views compare with those of Scottish people?
Just as it was with Scots, the single characteristic most likely to make a person Welsh is being born in Wales – 91% of Welsh people said this makes someone Welsh (compared to 87% of Scots).
Again, as with Scots, the majority of Welsh people also considered a person to be Welsh if they had one or two Welsh parents or had grown up in Scotland. Welsh people are somewhat more accepting of a person’s parentage as a claim to Welshness – fitting for a country whose national anthem is “Land of My Fathers”. Nearly eight in ten (78%) Welsh people compared to 71% of Scots say having two parents from their country secures you their nationality, as do 61% of Welsh compared to 50% of Scots for one parent.
Welsh people are also more accepting of those who consider themselves to be Welsh – 42% of Welsh people say considering yourself makes you Welsh, compared to 31% of Scots. Despite this, Welsh people are still more likely to think that think considering yourself Welsh does not makes you Welsh (49% vs 42%).
On the other hand, Scottish people are somewhat more accepting of people who’ve lived in Scotland/Wales for a certain time period. Just over a third (35%) of Scots consider a person who has lived in Scotland for longer than ten years to be a Scot, compared to 27% of Welsh people.
Likewise, 21% of Scots think that living in Scotland for five to ten years makes you Scottish, compared to 16% of Welsh people, and 16% of Scots say living in Scotland for up to than five years makes you Scottish compared to 8% of Welsh people.
Photo: PA
