The Scottish cringe is a cultural cringe relating to Scotland, and claimed to exist by politicians and commentators.[1] [2] [3]
These cultural commentators claim that a sense of cultural inferiority is felt by many Scots, particularly in relation to a perceived dominance of English or Anglocentric British culture, partly due to the importance of London within the United Kingdom, and consequently a sense of Scottish resentment and underachievement. The cringe is said to manifest as feelings of low self-worth and embarrassment felt by Scottish people in response to overt expressions of Scottish cultural identity[4] and heritage such as the Lowland Scots and Scottish Gaelic languages, and the kilt .
Former First Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell suggested in 2004 that the "Scottish cringe" included opposition to free-market capitalism and alleged that the cringe meant people felt "enterprise was even something to be ashamed of or embarrassed by".[5]