David Mowat is Conservative MP for Warrington South and a member of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee.
He is calling for the Scotland Bill to be amended to scrap the Barnet Formula which, he says, is manifestly unfair to the English taxpayer.
I don't intend to analyse his essay. My only comment would be 'Scrap the Scotland Bill'.
Posts
33 comments:
I am happy to scrap the formula, but there is a reason why Westminster have never done that yet.
It has been looked at 1000's times before.
Suffice to say Westminster realsie that the formula is actually better for them allowing them to keep huge taxation revenues for crude, scotch etc and say they are doing us a favour by giving us 20% more cash.
I suggest Mr Mowatt thinks before he types again.
Yes, I think it is about time we changed the United Kingsom from one with dependent states, to a loosely knit federation of independent states.
The new United Kingdom could be responsible for embassies and the military, and everything else could be handled by the separate countries own parliaments.
Ampers
Morning Madame,
Scrap it and lets get free.
Time for a velvet divorce - probably be more tweed though!
CD
Scrap the Scotland Bill. Which of course would leave the West Lothian question unanswered, and the situation in which MPs with a parliament in their own country can mess up English affairs. On the Macro scale, this enables damaged maniacs like Brown to cross the border and destroy our economy (and take an axe to our liberties), on the Micro scale, it allowed Scottish Labour MPs to vote for tuition fees in England whilst they were being scrapped in Scotland.
Similarly, 41 MPs from this same country, with its own Parliament, were the difference between the Conservatives winning an outright majority and the hung parliament that resulted.
Sorry Subrosa - I know not what else is in the Scottish Bill, but an unanswered West Lothian question is a massive insult to democracy.
Rosa -Well your comment stirred up a hornet nest.
I did add my own, but by some mystery of cyber-space it never appeared.
However, for the benefit of the detractors I did encourage them to keep on whinging, noting it was all grist to the independence mill.
Elby the Beserk - Many of us Scots agree wholeheartedly with your comments but blame the unionist parties here in Sootland who depend on England for their funding for this situation.
Aye LotF, we're a sorry wee bunch of parasites aren't we. Or so the unionists would have others believe.
Well said ampers, but of course the oil revenue, which we've been told for years is running out yet production is increasing, would be lost to the SE. That is the only reason Westminster tolerates us here. Oh there's the revenue from one of the UK's biggest exports too of course. But you knew that.
CD, the man had taken quite some time to write his essay. He obviously believes what he wrote. It fell apart for me when he said he approved of the Scotland Bill in the main.
Elby, various Westminster governments could have resolved the West Lothian question. They didn't. It suits the unionists to have things just as they are but to tinker at the edges with the constitution.
There are a few sites which give information but you could start with this one Elby:
http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-11/scotland.html
Crinkly, auch a shame and your initial comment didn't even hit my email box before it floated off into cyberspace.
Billy, you've said that so much better than me.
Rosa - there must be some 'moderator system' the comment is on.
perhaps they think I'm a lonesome Scottish Conservative?
John Robertson a labour mp also called for PR to be abolished for the scottish parliament as it harmed labour!! The arrogance knows no bounds
Never mind Barnett or the Scotland bill, let’s just end the union! Let's do it now while there's a chance to remain friends. As I'm sick of being called a sponger and sick of the weary willies that allegedly represent me in Westminster failing to vigorously rebut that foul lie. And indeed who try and succeed in playing down Scotland at every cut. So let's go with what we have (and a share of the debt and other resources of course) and get our own way. England can then go hers and the very, very, best of luck her, a decent people, distorted and twisted by the money grubbing donkeys that led them.
I always find it irritating when this issue is discussed in terms of how much better off one side will or won't be.
Shouldn't we be discussing whether we want shared or separate destinies. And if we want separate destinies then we should be able to wish each other luck and go our own ways.
Steve T
Crinkly, I think there is. My comment early this morning didn't appear immediately either. I've yet to check if it's there yet.
Exactly Steve yet there's not a majority of Scots who have seen the light. :)
Messing with the devolution agreement won't make one piece of difference although, having watched a wee bit of the debate in Westminster this afternoon, it seems as if there could be certain improvements to this act which will better Scotland.
I think you speak for many independence supports Dram, you certainly do for me.
Ah interesting news, thanks Holyrood Patter. No surprises there then.
Er... no. A much more suitable response should be thus.
Give us back our oil.
I don't have to tell you the reply Allan. 'We can't do that my man. We've spent it on the south east'.
I'd just say he was a typical English Tory MP. Why is he a member of the Scottish Affairs Committee, select or otherwise?
What in the name of St Andrew does he or his constituents or anything he is about know about Scotland?
That's what wrong with this bloody union.
Hi Tris. I think he said he had 'Scottish connections'. Doubt if he'd know where Broughty Ferry was though. ;)
Grouse Moor I suspect.
Still, if they reduced our money, doncha think that it might tumble to some of the unionists here that they are doing it because no one here voted for them. At worst they will lose Mundell... and that's hardly a loss. (I imagine they are already pretty much ready to lose most of the Liberals.)
The outcome might be that it might tumble to them that the only thing that was good to come out of the union was going to disappear, and because effectively we are disenfranchised we can't do a thing about it.
Supposing every single Scots MP voted for retention of the formual and evey English one against, where would that leave us....? Oh yeah.
Tris, now that's another angle I haven't given much consideration. Maybe we should have a few years of no Barnet formula then the unionists will realise we should be totally in charge of our own finances.
You answered your own question - no need for me to do so. :)
That is why I persist in calling the London parliament, the English parliament.
I know that some people object to it, but at the end of the day, most of the time it operates as an English parliament discussing those things pertaining to running England's services. When it operates as the Uk parliament, the voice of each Celtic country or province is of no account compared with English votes.
Scotland, Wales, NI and Cornwall have such small representation (quite rightly) that even if we all voted one way, the English would outnumber us: Wales 40, Scotland 59, Ireland 18, Cornwall 6= 123 out of 650. We lose; they win.
Subrosa,
My local LibDem MP conforms that sorting out the West Lothian question is definitely on the table for this parliament.
We shall see!
@tris said...
Not so - if you look at the election map, you will see that Labour in England is now confined to Welfareville. England is essentially NOT Labour. Yet until the WLQ is answered, wear at the mercy of some grubby little Socialists from up your way! We want the buggers OUT.
i watched Scottish questions from Westminster this week.
What was clear from the Tory members speaking was there near universal hostillity to Scotland and the Scots.
Elby I'm pleased to hear it but the resolution must not be detrimental to Scotland. Then again it could play into the hands of us - the independence supporters. :)
I'd agree Strathturret. We're barely (and very barely) tolerated because they need our oil and whisky.
Tris, I see what you mean by English parliament but so many Scottish unionist socialists are there calling themselves Scottish labour.
Until that is broken - because we know they are the ones who do vote on English issues whilst the SNP do not - it will never change.
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