Mark Gilbert’s Blog

There are few things that get me more annoyed than politics, when I watch the news or read the paper you can guarantee that the stories that will annoy me the most will have a political element to them.

I recently read an article that really really annoyed me, SNP set 20-seat Westminster goal . Basically the SNP or Scottish National Party would like to get 20 seats in parliament at the next general election. In itself not a problem, but it is the motive behind this goal that I despise. Their motive is that with the Conservatives gaining a lot of ground on Labour in the polls the SNP anticipate a hung parliament and they feel that 20 seats would give them a key position in Westminster. SNP leader Alex Salmond said in a BBC Scotland webchat

“We could make Westminster dance to a Scottish jig.”

Hold on just one bloody minute, they already have a National Assembly in Scotland, do we English get any chance to make that “dance to an English jig”? Do we hell as like. Why is there a Scottish Assembly which decides on matters which only affect Scotland, yet we in England still have to have all our decisions made by Westminster where people in Scotland can influence policy which does not affect them? Please tell me how that is fair.

Why is education better in Scotland with smaller class sizes and lower University fees? Because the English subsidise them.

Why is healthcare better in Scotland, with people having access to life saving cancer drugs, and drugs that prevent eyesight loss through macular degeneration? Because the English subsidise it.

Why is £1800 more of tax payers money spent per Capita in Scotland than in England? because England subsidises it.

This all seems a little unfair on the already over stretched English tax payer, why should a small group of people get the most money from the Chancellor, rather than the vast majority of people who generate this money. Perhaps because the previous Chancellor and the current PM is Scottish, as well as seemingly half the cabinet, this may go a long way towards explaining the discrepancy in public spending between the two countries.

So, the solution, with North Sea oil revenues declining sharply of late Scotland is in even less a position to support itself, meaning even more tax money will have to be diverted from Westminster towards Edinburgh, this then would seem to be the ideal time for a complete devolution of power, move control of Scotland to Scotland, along with responsibility for funding their own public spending. This would cut the burden of support on England and he English taxpayer, meaning better facilities and greater spending on England.

Why not do it, the Scottish seem to bang on about devolution of power on a fairly regular basis, why not give it to them, cut them loose. Stop this half hearted approach that we’re currently stuck with.

Cheers