DOWNING STREET REFUSES TO RULE OUT “HEFTY CULL” IN SCOTTISH SPENDING Comments from 10 Downing Street have shown that they have not ruled out a hefty cull to Scottish spending should Scotland vote No to independence. The Downing Street spokesperson was asked about the implications of the Chancellor’s plans for a further £25bn in cuts on the Scottish referendum. It was put to him that there would need to be a hefty cull of Scottish spending after the UK General Election, to which the spokesperson replied, I am not able to set out the future spending review. The Westminster parties are threatening to cut the money Scotland receives from Westminster in the Barnett Formula to the tune of £4 billion a year. Commenting, SNP Treasury spokesperson Stewart Hosie MP said: “Downing Street refusing to rule out a hefty cull in the Scottish budget if there is a No vote in the referendum is dynamite - we already know that the Westminster parties are itching to cut Scotlands cash to the tune of £4 billion a year, even though we more than pay our way in the UK. This is a big reason why it is vital that Scotland votes Yes in September. It is crystal clear that a No vote means more brutal welfare cuts, ever deeper spending cuts - and more years of Westminster mismanagement. George Osborne is claiming the economy is recovering, yet his cuts would continue to hit the most vulnerable in our society. With the Labour Party engaged in a Dutch auction with the Tories about who can impose the deepest cuts, it is vital that Scotland achieves a Yes vote in September so that we can chart a Scottish alternative. Nick Clegg has attacked the Tories for wanting to remorselessly tear back the state, and hammering working-age poor people - in other words, the parties in the No campaign are fighting like ferrets in a sack as the full extent of Westminster austerity and the damage caused to our society becomes apparent. “We need the powers of an independent Scotland - a Scottish parliament and government with real economic powers so that we can make the right decisions for Scotland, instead of being subject to Westminsters slash and burn policies. Notes to Editors: 1) PM - LOBBY BRIEFING - JANUARY 6: Gallery News. The Downing Street spokesman was asked if the Prime Minister shared concerns that the Chancellors plans for a further cut in spending of £25bn would boost the Scottish Yes vote for independence. He replied that the rationale for fiscal consolidation was about living within our means and the whole country being able to pay our way in the world. This had led to lower interest rates and lower mortgage rates, he said. When it comes to the case for the future of Scotland, the Prime Minister will continue to make the case that the UK is stronger with Scotland in it, he said. He was asked if the Prime Minister would dismiss concerns from some people that the Chancellor is cutting spending to encourage the Scots to vote Yes to independence. He replied, The logic of that I am unable to follow. It was put to him that there would need to be a hefty cull of Scottish spending after the General Election. The spokesman replied, I am not able to set out the future spending review. ends 2) At the Telegraph Festival of Business on 12 November 2013, George Osborne stated: I think we are on the path for prosperity, I think we have got the fundamentals right. We have got an economic plan which is delivering what very many countries in the world would crave, which is certainty, stability and competitiveness.” telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/georgeosborne/10445247/George-Osborne-economic-plan-is-delivering.html 3) George Osborne, Western Mail, 28 April 2008: A Tory government would have an open mind on whether to scrap the controversial formula that sets public spending levels in Wales, Scotland & N. Ireland, Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said last night... ...He told The Western Mail: If we’re going to have a debate about Barnett, let’s start with the facts. Nobody has done a needs-based assessment of how much each part of the UK would get if there were changes…I don’t think we can have a debate about Barnett without that. I did ask Alistair Darling to commission a needs-based assessment and I’m still waiting.... 4) The All-Party Parliamentary Taxation Group report proposing £4bn cut A House of Commons report proposes cutting Scotland’s budget by as much as £4 billion a year in the event of a No vote in next year’s referendum. The All-Party Parliamentary Taxation Group includes Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem members. The report, link below, includes the following recommendation: appgtaxation.org/APPTG_Achieving_Autonomy_2013.pdf 11.14. In the case of a ‘No’ vote, the Barnett Formula must be replaced as a priority, with a needs-based formula for inter-regional resource allocation the best alternative, using the seven indicators of relative need identified by the Holtham Commission (§§5.26, 6.84). Gerald Holtham co-wrote an article in the Financial Times in 2010, headlined: “Scotland is taking more than its share of funds” In the article he wrote: “Our study looked at the needs-based formulas used in England (and analogous criteria used in Scotland and Wales) to assess whether Barnett allocates resources fairly and consistently. It does not. An assessment consistent with those used to distribute health, local government and educational spending around England could eventually result in Scotland getting as much as £4bn less than it currently does.” (FT, 5 July 2010) 5 ) During STV’s Election Face to Face series of interviews on 19 April 2010, Alistair Carmichael stated: We do want to see Barnett scrapped. We want to see that replaced by what we call a needs based formula...” 6) Margaret Curran comments from the Telegraph, 24 September 2013: Rhodri Morgan, the former Welsh First Minister, also used the meeting to ask Ms Curran whether an independent organisation should distribute public money to the three devolved assemblies instead of the Treasury using the Barnett formula. She said: “I do believe that we should allocate public funding on the basis of need and it should not be around just a regional or a national demarcation around that. 7) Further Labour pressure for a cut to Barnett from the Scotsman (14 April 2013) reporting that Labour MPs were unhappy with Johann Lamont’s devolution Commission indicated that Labour MPs outwith Scotland want Barnett scrapped: Another MP pointed out that any further devolution would need support from the Labour Party in England … “There are Labour MPs in England now who are getting fed up with it, not just Tories. They are saying ‘you guys just want the benefits of being in the UK but aren’t willing to play your part’.” 8) Senior Tories have repeatedly called for the Barnett Formula to be scrapped if Scotland votes No: RUTH DAVIDSON MSP: On 26th March 2012 Ruth Davidson was reported telling the Sun: “Barnett [formula] was only supposed to be temporary... I do think that there will be a review of Barnett after 2014. The ground has shifted since devolution.” DAVID CAMERON: From the Herald, 23 May 2008 Asked if it was time to get rid of the formula, Mr Cameron says: This cannot last forever, the time is approaching ... If we replace the Barnett Formula with a needs-based formula, Scotland has very great needs and Scotland will get very great resources. Asked if, therefore, the formula is coming to the end of the road, he replies: Yes, thats right…” SIR MERRICK COCKELL: Sir Merrick Cockell, a Tory council leader and head of the Local Government Association (LGA) in England, has indicated that the…: “…LGA has confirmed it will press the Treasury to create a new system of sharing funding across the UK which would be likely to reduce the £30 billion block grant that Scotland receives each year to spend on schools, hospitals and roads.” (Scotsman, 28 Jul 2013) PRITI PATEL MP: In a speech to the Institute of Economic Affairs (29/11/2012) Tory MP Priti Patel – who was one of David Cameron’s ‘A-list’ candidates – attacked what she called the funding imbalance of the Barnett formula, claiming that: “Scots are basically getting a better deal than the rest of the country…These are considerable sums of money which should be reduced as part of the deficit reduction plans.” CONSERVATIVE MPs: From the Daily Telegraph, 1st February 2010: Most Conservative MPs want David Cameron to cut the amount of taxpayers money spent in Scotland, new research shows... ...The IPPR questioned 114 MPs, around a fifth of the total, and found that the overwhelming majority are dissatisfied with the UK’s current constitutional arrangements. 72% of Tory MPs in the poll said they believe that England is “losing out” because of devolution to Scotland and Wales. 74% of Conservatives said the current system for distributing money around the UK is unfair on England.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 12:19:58 +0000
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