Capital cities in multi-level settings: assessing Scottish and Welsh residents’ perceptions of London, Edinburgh and Cardiff

Capital cities perform different important functions in political systems. They often are important centres of political and economic power. Devolution, while aiming to transfer part of the power once concentrated in the state capital to sub-state entities, may contribute to create new political and economic centres. Generally, in multi-level systems we observe the coexistence of multiple capitals, which may be differently perceived by citizens. This paper focuses on the UK and analyses the results of a new survey conducted among 1800 respondents in Scotland and Wales. In these two devolved nations, the UK capital, London, ‘competes’ with two other capital cities, Edinburgh and Cardiff. Respondents were asked to assess these three cities across three dimensions: the individual/value dimension (whether they can self-identify with the capital city and its inhabitants), the symbolic dimension (whether they perceive the capital city as representative of the rest of the polity) and the integrative dimension (whether they perceive the capital city as accessible and inclusive). While, overall, both Edinburgh and Cardiff outperform London on all three dimensions, important differences exist among respondents, depending on some demographic characteristics and geographic factors. Most importantly, political and meta-political factors seem to be more strongly correlated with individuals’ perceptions of devolved capital cities (Cardiff and Edinburgh) than of the state-wide capital (London). This study therefore shows that far from being neutral, the role of capital cities in meso-level jurisdictions can be highly politicised, thus replicating some of the centre-periphery tensions and political controversies usually associated with the state-wide capital.