The two most popular methods for enjoying scones are as hotly debated as the best "football" clubs in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. These are the Devonshire and the Cornish methods, also known as cream tea. The Devonshire method, which is to split the scone in half, cover each half with clotted cream, and then add strawberry jam on top. Alternatively, with the Cornish method, the warm scone is first split in half, then spread with strawberry jam, and finally topped with a spoonful of clotted cream. This method is used most notably in London.
So, although the end result is the same it appears to be more about tradition and bragging rights going back to the 11th century England. And, as far as I can tell that while Scottish and Irish may certainly have their own variations and traditions they each were greatly influenced by the English and thereby commonly use one of these methods as well.
It has been reported that the British royals including the former Queen Elizabeth II follows the Cornish method, jam first then cream, and for goodness sake no pinkies up.