New Scots

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New Scots is a controversial political term sometimes used to describe people of any nationality who have immigrated or moved to Scotland, it was invented to cover European citizens who remained in Scotland following the Brexit vote in 2016. The term has no legal basis and anyone of any nationality can describe themselves as a 'New Scot' without affecting their existing nationality. It is however controversial as it differentiates between existing (non-‘New’) and ‘New’ Scots and creates categories of Scottish people rather than accept the simple notion that anyone resident in Scotland is “Scottish”.

Contents

Terminology

The history of Scottish peoples includes a mixture of immigrants from outside of Scotland. However, the term new Scots has been used to describe new immigrants especially since the twentieth century, especially after the Second World War, with the increase of settled immigrants from other parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. [1] [2]

In the 2000s, the Scottish government has also employed the term in official documents, speaking both in terms of the new talent immigrants bring to Scotland [3] and those who come as refugees and asylum seekers. [4]

See also

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References

  1. Maan, Bashir (1997). The New Scots: The Story of Asians in Scotland. John Donald Publishers Ltd. ISBN   978-0859763578.
  2. Devine, Tom M. (2018). New Scots: Scotland's Immigrant Communities since 1945. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN   978-1-4744-3790-5.
  3. Scottish Executive (2004). New Scots: Attracting Fresh Talent to Meet the Challenge of Growth. Scottish Executive.
  4. Scottish Government (2018). New Scots: Refugee Integration Strategy: 2018–2022. Scottish Government.