Resolving the ‘Highland Problem’: The Highlands and Islands of Scotland and the European Union

Popular perception has historically constructed the Highlands and Islands of Scotland to be economically and socially backwards in comparison with the rest of the United Kingdom. As evoked in the phrase the ‘Highland Problem’, the area has been considered by outsiders to be beyond help and destined to remain in a state of underdevelopment and chronic depopulation. Despite the history of economic intervention in the area from the late 18th century onwards from private and government initiatives intended to alleviate poverty and bring wealth to the area, it was not until the 1980s with the implementation of sustained and tailored structural assistance from the European Union that emigration slowed and the population of the Highlands and Islands began to grow significantly. This economic success has largely been the result of not only a significant injection of capital but also the willingness of the EU to use local knowledge and collaborate with local agencies. This remarkable development, which is far from over, is being directly threatened by the Brexit phenomenon