In this blog, Dewi Knight, Director of PolicyWISE, explores new polling undertaken by PolicyWISE and what it shows about the attitudes held by those living in Scotland in relation to how the UK and Scottish Governments work together.
PolicyWISE is a UK and Ireland comparative policy, research, and knowledge exchange initiative, hosted at The Open University. It was highly commended as ‘One to Watch’ in the Smart Thinking think-tank awards for 2025. It aims to inform and improve policymaking through cross-nation and comparative research and analysis.
As with all guest blogs, what follows are the views of the author and not those of SPICe or indeed the Scottish Parliament.
Less confrontation, more co-operation
A little less confrontation, a little more co-operation please. That is the main message from the Scottish public – across the political spectrum – according to new polling on intergovernmental relations and policy collaboration.
It is a sentiment the Scottish public shares with people in Wales, according to the same poll, when asked about the current state of cross-nation working, and how they want to see relationships between the devolved and UK governments develop, including what they think should be policy priorities for shared action in 2026 and beyond.
PolicyWISE, a comparative policy think-tank, hosted at The Open University, surveyed 1035 voters in Scotland and 800+ in Wales in early February 2026. PolicyWISE worked with More in Common on this polling, the first of its kind to examine public attitudes specifically towards intergovernmental cooperation in Scotland and Wales.
Current frustration doesn’t prevent optimism for the future
People in Scotland do not think that current intergovernmental relations are in a good place. Only a quarter believe that the Scottish and UK Government are currently working together well. But a majority believe that collaboration is possible, despite the perceived lack of current co-operation.
This frustration with the perceived lack of cross-administration working does not translate into support for less cooperation. 95%, in both Scotland and Wales, want positive and constructive intergovernmental working. People say that closer cooperation is needed on the issues that matter most including the cost of living, the economy, the NHS, energy, immigration and tackling violence against women and girls.
The public wants to see their governments co-operating, no matter whether Edinburgh or London has the lead policy responsibility. There is support, and expectation, that governments work together on both devolved and reserved issues.
55% of people in Scotland think that collaboration between the Scottish and UK Government on the NHS is “essential” or “helpful”, even though it a devolved responsibility. Only 9% think that working with the UK Government “gets in the way” of devolved action.
On housing policy, a majority think that intergovernmental cooperation would be “essential” or “helpful” and just 7% thought it “gets in the way”. The polling highlighted the same pattern for education, climate change, and reducing poverty.
People also told PolicyWISE that they believe progress is achievable if political leaders prioritise joint working, even where compromise is required. When asked how a First Minister should approach relations with the UK Government, only 16% of people in Scotland thought that “standing up to Westminster”, at the expense of co-operation, was the best approach. This compared with the 70% who wanted to see a focus on constructive working even if it means compromising, or a balanced approach of compromise and standing firm.
A more collaborative form of governance
These sentiments echo what PolicyWISE heard from current and former senior government officials across the UK during its recent research into improving the UK’s system of intergovernmental relations. Fora such as the Council of the Nations & Regions (and intergovernmental relations more broadly) should have a clear sense of purpose, where substantive issues are routinely discussed and shared actions taken. It should not, in other words, be a ‘talking shop’.
PolicyWISE recommends that the UK adopts a more collaborative approach to governance across its nations. This means that the different governments across the UK recognise that to achieve many of their core objectives, they need to work with others.
The views of the Scottish public showed that the UK should think less about jurisdictional boundaries when practising intergovernmental relations (IGR), and more about the different forms of cooperation which may be appropriate to address shared concerns. This would involve governments systematically sharing learning and best practice, coordinating better across jurisdictions, and then considering whether to commit to clearly defined joint initiatives.
This is what people in Scotland also expect from IGR. A majority think that “co-operating to solve shared problems” should be the focus of IGR in the UK, with a quarter choosing cross-nation learning as a key IGR priority. Only 12% thought that the governments “standing up for their area” was good intergovernmental relations practice.
PolicyWISE already supports government officials to work together on shared challenges, through its model of cross-nation policy clusters. These bring together officials from each government, and with researchers from across the UK. The clusters model allows shared learning and practice on topics of common interest, such as ending violence against women and girls, a cluster in which Scottish Government officials have played a prominent role.
Expectations that IGR includes reserved issues
There are potentially three categories of strategic issues which can benefit from improved intergovernmental relations:
- those that relate primarily to powers that are ‘reserved’ to the UK government
- those that are shared or concurrent competence, and
- issues where the relevant policy levers are devolved.
In proposing a more collaborative form of governance which cuts across responsibilities, PolicyWISE has examined the IGR models practiced in Australia and Canada, and the lessons they have for the UK. In both countries, federal and ‘devolved’ leaders come together to co-operate and agree shared action on societal challenges such as gender-based violence (Australia) and international economic matters and relations (Canada).
Foreign policy, defence and security are the exclusive domain of the ‘central’ government in almost all instances. However, such matters of geopolitics can have profound implications which cut across different spheres of authority.
PolicyWISE’s polling shows that people in Scotland and Wales identify four priority issues for this kind of co-operation:
- immigration
- energy policy
- trade, and
- relations with the EU.
People are clear that they expect to see the Prime Minister working with the First Ministers, sharing his thinking, and seeking their input on these matters. Existing IGR forums could be used to bring devolved governments into dialogue with the ‘central’ government on these matters of shared importance.
Who speaks for England?
On geo-political issues, the UK government is representing the UK as a whole. On devolved matters (i.e., those devolved in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), however, the UK Prime Minister is effectively acting as England’s leader. Refreshed intergovernmental structures must provide clarity about when the UK government is acting as the de facto national government for England, and when it is acting as the governing authority for the whole UK. The Scottish Government’s response to the CEEAC Committee inquiry highlights examples where the line between ‘England-only’ and UK-wide decisions has been blurred.
Successive UK Governments have been reluctant to formally recognise this duality, but the polling shows that the public in Scotland are ahead of them on this issue, because it shows that the lack of clarity is evident to the public. 43% of people in Scotland believe the UK Government acts mainly as a government for England, and only a quarter think it mostly operates as a UK-wide government. Only 34% in Scotland think that the UK Government is ‘clear’ in communicating when its decisions affect only England.
Tensions for how the Union, and IGR, operates are also evident in people’s views on whether government from London has been a good, or a bad, thing for their nations. Nearly a third thought it had been a ‘bad thing’. Support for devolved government as a good thing for Scotland (48%) was higher, and substantially higher than those who thought that devolved government had been a ‘bad thing’.
Looking ahead
PolicyWISE’s view is that governments across the UK should seriously focus on collectively identifying issues of shared concern and strategic importance – wherever they fall within the ‘geometry’ of reserved and devolved powers. This ‘shared rule’ approach aligns with the public’s expectations.
Only a fifth of people in Scotland think it is impossible for the Scottish and UK Governments to ever work well together. There is optimism, and large support, for better intergovernmental relations which focuses on shared policy priorities and challenges.
Moving to a more collaborative and productive mode of engagement requires flexibility and a recognition that no-one governing authority in the UK – including the UK Government – can achieve its priorities alone.
It could be considered that the public in Scotland are ahead of their governments and leaders on the necessity of collaborative governance. The UK needs new ways of working in partnership across its four nations to achieve shared policy goals.
PolicyWISE’s polling shows that people expect their governments to work together to address central challenges such as reducing the cost of living, reforming public services and growing the economy in Scotland, and across the rest of the UK. Better co-operation between governments must be a priority if this is to be achieved.
The post-election period provides a window of opportunity for governments and parliaments to look to more collaborative working. This is what PolicyWISE’s findings show the public expects from whoever is in power after the elections in Scotland and Wales, and from the UK Government.
Dewi Knight is Director of PolicyWISE, the UK and Ireland comparative policy think-tank, hosted at The Open University.