SCOTS are more equality-minded than the English, but not as much as Nordic countries, new research has shown.

The British Social Attitudes study, published today, has compared views in Scotland, England and Nordic countries for the first time.

It shows that more people in Scotland believe that the distribution in incomes across Britain is unfair (73 per cent) compared to England (65%),and a quarter of Scots felt they lived in an unequal society in comparison to 17% of English people.

However in Denmark and Norway, where income inequality is much lower, 38% and 52% of people thought income distribution was unfair respectively, while barely anyone in those Nordic countries believed they lived in a a highly unequal society.

Meanwhile, only 11% in Scotland claim British society is broadly equal, compared with 17% in England.

READ MORE: SNP plan to seek common cause with our neighbours to the north

People in the Nordic countries are much more likely to feel their society is broadly equal – 53% in Norway, 51% in Denmark and 39% in Finland.

The research by the The National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) is the first time such a comparison has been made between Scotland, England and the Nordics individually, and was taken from separate studies conducted in 2019.

Polling expert John Curtice, speaking to The Herald, said the study showed there was still more work todo by the SNP if they wanted to convince people to move toward a more Nordic style of politics and society through achieving independence.

He said that the idea was one of the "principal themes" of the 2014 referendum campaign by the SNP.

Mr Curtice, who is Senior Fellow at NatCen, explained: "I think what it indicates is that if that's the direction in which you wish to go, you need to realise that you've got some persuading to do.

"I think this is a somewhat easier project on which to embark in Scotland than it is in England, but if you wish to get levels of public support for the Nordic model that currently exists in the Nordic countries, then you've got an act of persuasion to do.

"You're going to have to persuade people that they should want to buy in to a vision of an independent Scotland, which is indeed a significantly more egalitarian country than is England.

"That was one of the two principal themes, at least rhetorically, of the SNP campaign in 2014; one was that we were going to be better off and that we were going to be more equal."

The research also showed that in terms of attitudes to buying better education and healthcare, Scots' views were in between those of England and the Nordics.

Nearly half of people in Scotland said it is wrong for people with higher incomes to buy better education (46%) and better healthcare (42%), while in England the equivalent figures are 34% and 32% respectively.

However a clear majority in Nordic countries thought this was wrong - 70% in Norway, 62% in Finland, and 60% in Denmark. And most people in these countries say it is wrong people can buy better healthcare – 65% in Norway, 51% in Finland, and 50% in Denmark

In addition, 65% of people in Scotland agreed that the government should provide a decent standard of living for the unemployed; more than the 60% who did so in England, but less than the 78% of Norwegians, 76% of Danes and 71% of Finnish people.

Dr Chris Deeming, a senior lecturer at the University of Strathclyde was also involved in the research and said, “There is a greater concern about social justice in Scotland than in England, though perhaps the difference is of degree rather than of kind.

"Certainly, attitudes towards inequality north of the border do not at present at least match the profile of Nordic social attitudes. Even so, thanks to the higher level of inequality in Britain, people in Scotland are most dissatisfied of all with government progress tackling inequality.”