The Scottish problem is getting worse

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Scotland 45 512

Let’s firstly take a look at the facts:

  • The YES campaign in the Scottish referendum LOST. Democratically. They are ignoring the fact that the majority of Scottish people voted against them and they are trying to still achieve independence.
  • The price of oil is in long term decline due to technology allowing vast North American oil shale and tar sand reserves to be tapped at low cost. Even OPEC is fighting for market share. Much Scottish oil is now being extracted at a loss, new developments are uneconomic. An independent Scotland, without English subsidies, would be a very poor place indeed.
  • Scottish MP constituencies are smaller than English ones, which is undemocratic and gives Scottish voters more power than English voters. Scottish MPs at Westminster are allowed to speak and vote on purely English matters, which is undemocratic.
  • The Barnett Formula means that English taxpayers massively subsidise the people of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, who receive more annual government per capita spend. This is a fact and it is utterly wrong. Scottish people receive far more government services than the English, yet it is the English paying for them. Current per capita government spending:
    • England £8,529
    • Scotland £10,152
    • Wales £9,709
    • Northern Ireland £10,876

During the referendum campaign Gordon Brown (who is just an ordinary MP and who rarely does his job) stood up and promised the Scots tax raising powers. Without any democratic reference to the rest of Great Britain, or to the British Government.. This was reluctantly endorsed by the main Westminster parties. After the referendum the Smith Commission was set up to decide what constitutional changes to make. Here are their conclusions:

  • The Scottish parliament to have complete power to set income tax rates and bands.
  • The Scottish parliament to receive a proportion of the VAT raised in Scotland, amounting to the first 10 percentage points of the standard rate (so with the current standard VAT rate of 20%, Scotland would receive 50% of the receipts). However, the Scottish parliament cannot influence the UK’s overall VAT rate.
  • The Scottish Parliament to have increased borrowing powers to support capital investment and ensure budgetary stability. These powers are to be agreed with the UK government.
  • UK legislation to state that the Scottish parliament and Scottish government are permanent institutions. The parliament will also be given powers to legislate over how it is elected and run.
  • The Scottish parliament to have power to extend the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds, allowing them to vote in the Scottish Parliament general election, 2016.
  • The Scottish parliament to have control over a number of benefits including Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, winter fuel payments and the housing elements of Universal Credit, including the under-occupancy charge .
  • The Scottish parliament to have new powers to make discretionary payments in any area of welfare without the need to obtain prior permission from the Department for Work and Pensions.
  • The Scottish parliament to have all powers of support for unemployed people through employment programmes, mainly delivered at present through the Work Programme.
  • The Scottish parliament to have control over air passenger duty charged on passengers flying from Scottish airports.
  • Responsibility for the management of the Crown Estate’s economic assets in Scotland, including the Crown Estate’s seabed and mineral and fishing rights, and the revenue generated from these assets, to be transferred to the Scottish parliament.
  • The licensing of onshore oil and gas extraction underlying Scotland to be devolved to the Scottish parliament.
  • The Scottish government will have power to allow public sector operators to bid for ail franchises funded and specified by Scottish ministers.
  • The block grant from the UK government to Scotland will continue to be determined via the operation of the Barnett formula. New rules to define how it will be adjusted at the point when powers are transferred and thereafter to be agreed by the Scottish and UK governments and put in place prior to the powers coming into force. These rules will ensure that neither the Scottish nor UK governments will lose or gain financially from the act of transferring a power.
  • MPs representing constituencies across the whole of the UK to continue to decide the UK’s budget, including income tax.
  • The Scottish and UK governments to draw up and agree a memorandum of understanding to ensure that devolution is not detrimental to UK-wide critical national infrastructure in relation to matters such as defence and security, oil and gas and energy.

This is vastly more than Gordon Brown promised and is an immense constitutional change. It is a license to hand out English taxpayers’ money in vast benefits to the Scots. And it has been agreed by the Westminster parties, without the English voters having any say.

And still Alex Salmond is not happy. He says Scotland was promised Devo Max. Which is just untrue. He wants to salami slice ever more power to the Scots but with three conditions: 1) The English taxpayers continue to subsidise Scotland 2) Scotland does not take responsibility for its share of national debt 2) English taxpayers continue to pay for Scotland’s defence, diplomatic cover, central banking etc.

Scotland problem 512

Now I will introduce you to a frightening scenario. There will never be peace in Israel because it is impossible to form a government without including Zionist nutter political parties who want to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians. A similar awful scenario could be coming to Great Britain soon. After the 2015 General Election it is very likely that the balance of power will be held by the Scottish Nationalists, Ulster Unionists, Liberal Democrats, UKIP and the Greens, with the Scottish Nationalists being the biggest, after Labour has suffered Scottish meltdown. So any government will be a coalition. This will allow Alex Salmond, as SNP leader at Westminster, to lay down conditions. To blackmail the British Government. For a small number of Scots to dictate to a large number of English. Obviously Cameron is tough (he stands up to the EU and Putin) so will have none of this. However Miliband is very weak and will do anything for power, including stabbing his brother in the back.

English taxpayers are being taken for a huge ride by Alex Salmond and nobody seems to want to do anything about it. The only solution is a clear overall Conservative majority at the General Election. Or just get rid of the whingeing Scots.

15 Comments


  1. Whilst I accept Salmond and the SNP display neither respect for the English taxpayer or the democratic decision of Scottish voters, it is not a simple fact that Scotland et al receive massive subsidies that no-one in England enjoys. England is not one entity in this regard and it is disingenuous to claim it is. It also weakens your argument substantially by adding your final remark. Scotland rejected Salmond and that was not because of Gordon Brown or any promise from Cameron, it was because Salmond’s proposal was not founded upon reality. Try being a little less hysterical, more factually accurate and less insulting and you’ll have a decent case to argue.

    Reply

  2. putting the Green party & SNP in the same box as UKIP or indeed, zionist nutters hell bent on ethnic cleansing of some sort is utter, over the top, deluded insanity.
    both these parties stand for equality, multicultural acceptance and social democracy.
    If they are elected in democratically then they deserve their place and voice. why are you so afraid of democracy?

    Reply

    1. Louise,
      SNP are socialists, this makes them worse than UKIP who are just nutters.

      Reply

  3. Hope your games marketing skills are better than your political or economical analyses
    FYI, Democracy is an ongoing process. A bit like achieving any other aim in life, you don’t give up if you suffer a little setback. I’d have thought that would have been evident to you with your background in marketing.
    And if you want to campaign to “get rid of the Jocks”, please feel free to carry on, as vigorously as you like.

    Reply

    1. Brian, you really need to raise the quality of your debate:
      Pyramid of intellect

      Reply

  4. The hard fact of the matter is this : the UK would be bankrupt if Scotland left. If you don’t believe me research it. Also read the McRone report from 79 a report so detrimental that successive WM GOVERNMENTS chose to keep it secret. That is all

    Reply

  5. I suggest you do a little more research.

    Although Scotland receives higher public spending the the rest of UK, the cost to the treasury is more than outweighed by Oil and Gas revenues. Bearing in mind, Oil and Gas revenues are often excluded from official govt. figures.

    UK spending is on average 1200GBP higher per person in Scorland, but Scotland sends 1700GBP more in tax per person than rUK. Therefore, Scotland only receives 70% of the tax generated in Scotland with the extra 30% being spent on things such as nuclear weapons, HS2 etc etc.

    The extra spending isn’t a generous gift from the UK govt. and being stolen from the English tax payer. It is borrowing from international banks and becomes part of the UK’s debt.

    Also, Alex Salmond is no longer the leader of the SNP and will have no more power than any other MP should he be elected. So I find your comment about Alex Salmond leading some kind of revolution to be incredibly confusing.

    Blog titles such as “the Scots aren’t very bright” seems like nothing but a cry for attention and shows your inability to construct a professional blog which can be taken seriously.

    Ask yourself this question, why would WM fight so hard to keep the “winging Scots” if they are such a drain on rUK’s wealth?

    Please peel your eyes away from the BBC and other mainstream media outlets and do some real research.

    Reply

  7. This is quite laughable really. You are linking to newspapers, who are quoting from politicians. I’m not sure what point you were trying to make in replying with that.

    The Yes campaign was not centred around Oil & Gas alone. If anything, it proved how poorly WM has managed the UK’s national resources. Mostly by a Tory led government, which sold off the UK’s vast natural resources rather than nationalising them, but there is no point in crying over spilt milk. Look at the Norway model, one of the few countries running without a deficit.

    FYI – Scottish MPs typically do not vote on English only matters. It is almost like an unwritten rule.

    The point is this – your blog(s) are incredibly amateur. Your political analysis skills are non-existant and you show nothing but a deep hatred for the Scots.

    I’m glad you are happy with a two party state, but many are not. You must feel really proud of yourself turning your back on the millions in poverty while your Government caters for the middle-class cottonwool generation.

    I’m not sure what edwardian cave you have climbed out of, but you should come join the 21st century.

    Stick to the day job, mate.

    Peace and love x

    Reply

  8. To be fair, you’re quoting the Telegraph, which is not a reliable source, and you’re using it as an ONLY source. Three times!

    Show some independent research, please.

    Reply

  9. “The YES campaign in the Scottish referendum LOST. Democratically. They are ignoring the fact that the majority of Scottish people voted against them and they are trying to still achieve independence.”

    I’m not sure you quite get how democracy works, Bruce. The Conservative party does not stop trying to achieve conservatism if it loses a general election – it moves on to the next election. I’m afraid you can’t just stop the clock because you (narrowly) get the result you want in one particular moment in time.

    Sorry.

    Reply

    1. James Kelly, you do not seem to realise what a referendum is. The Yes campaign want one every day until they win.

      Reply

  10. Mute all you want, you’re still a space cadet with no sense of reality. And I was being nice. Your stupidity and ignorance is beyond words.

    Reply

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