Scot free

Posted by Ben Hammond

A good old fashioned England v Scotland ding-dong has emerged with the announcement that Scots won’t have to pay university fees – but English students will.

English people at Scottish universities will have to pay £1,700 a year, but Scots and other EU citizens will learn for free. Scotland is also phasing out student loans and reintroducing grants; England isn’t.

This is just the latest example of an imbalance that sees England get £6,361 per person to spend on public services compared to Scotland’s £7,600. England subsidises Scotland to the tune of is £8.3bn a year – or £1,600 per Scot.

So it seems bizarre that last month’s elections saw the Scottish National Party win 47 seats, more than any other party. Independence would be a financial disaster, built as it is on the dwindling supplies of North Sea gas and oil.

Scotland has slumped to the bottom of a ranking of small (under 9 million) countries and would be globally insignificant on its own. The Independence movement is motivated by age-old enmity, not modern thinking.

Independence would be a disaster for Scotland, but it might save a few pennies for the English. Could the SNP consider running south of the border?

Comments

[Liz]

So, it's not fair that the tuition fee's are being abolished in Scotland! Was it fair that the "Poll Tax" was introduced into Scotland a full year before the rest of the so called Ünited Kingdon" I think that the British Parliament are running scared because they know that Scotland can sustain itself very well indeed. We have the North Sea Oil and Gas industry, We have our whisky exports and one of the best educational systems in the world, hence the reason so many English study in our universities...If it happens, brilliant, if it doesnt....then nothing has changed. Stop loosing sleep over something that none of us can really control because one way or another, the politicians win.

[keith]

england should be independant, and if scottland suffers for it, let them deal with it, they shouldnt need to lean on the english, they have there own people, there own parlement, so why not be independant

[AP]

Deliberately provocative from the SNP, and delivered by a very smug Salmond which is somewhat disappointing after his election performance. Perhaps we should force independence upon them and see what electoral support they have at that juncture. To expect English tax-payers to fund them in this way will inevitably create resentment, as the SNP well knows. As will the abolition of prescription charges in Wales. It would be very nice to return the whole country to a higher education grants system, but I'm afraid that it couldn't be financially sustained without enormous tax hikes.

Perhaps we should petition our MPs to withhold all payments to Scotland or suffer the loss of our votes, and let the SNP explain that to their impoverished constituents.

[Steve]

Blah, blah the same old 'it's their hatred of the english' line trotted out once again.

Just maybe the reason that the SNP got into power is because there is a real feeling that we should be able to govern our own affairs again, and for once the SNP offered a positive, modern vision for Scotland. A successful small country in it's own right, without the desire to be 'globally significant', as that article stated. There are scots with that 'chip on their shoulder' attidude, but they're on the decline. There are still also many english people who speak from positions of ignorance and arrogance. I'd never voted SNP before, it had always been tainted by the anti english lot, always looking to blame their woes down south. Personaly, I couldn't care less about England, I'm pro Scottish not anti English. I certainly feel more Scottish than British. Possibly a lot was to do with a disillusionment with a remote Government to preoccupied with spin and fighting unjustifiable wars. Just for the record 'Chris', they do let English people govern Scotland (think the last ones name was John Major! - nobody up here voted for him, how fair was that??).

The abolishing tution fees is about getting Scots back into further education, not about discriminating against English students. Scottish Universities are full of Engish students, many of whom can afford the fees, and buy cheaper property up here. I do believe other EU students should have to pay though.

I say give independence a chance, we should stand or fall by our own decisions and mistakes. We can't get any worse, as that report showed. The current situation just isn't working. It sickens me the amount of scaremongering put out by Westminster about an Independent Scotland. Nobody wants to close the border and evict every English person living here. Maybe the powers that be a more scared of successful independence inspiring the various English regions to demand more autonomy.

At least with the SNP in charge at Holyrood, Brown won't have the free ride Blair did with the last spineless Scottish Labour parliment.

[Eddie C]

Now let me see....ah Scots independence , for the less enlightened of my fellow Brits down south ; IMHO most Scots don't want independence,it's jacobite scaremongering. Imbalance of £s per head ? what's the pop. of London compared with Scotland , do the math please.Oh and for the ignorant - 200 years ago Scotsmen were fighting in the BRITISH Army in the napoleonic wars.....

[Chris]

England would be much better without the Scots. The example of University fees is one of many advantages they have over us and we have to pay for it. They are enothing but an expense to out tax payers. We should also get rid of Brown, I very much doubt they'd let an Englishman be in charge in Scotland!

[geordie]

I think this is just one of the results of the hatred of the english thats bred into the scots from birth. They should stop living in the past and think of their's and their childrens future not what some englishmen did two hundred years ago. They should realise, at the end of the day they are punnishig themselves, not us.

[Peter McKue]

l am English with Scottish ancestory but I believe Scottish independance would be a disaster for the whole of Britain.We are intertwined. Yes we have our ding dongs over football and rugby but we fight together in the armed forces. I am very proud of Britain. Scotland is only voting as it did to show dis-satisfaction with political parties in general.Political parties should get their act together. Breaking up the union will only serve those countries that envy what Britain has.

[russ]

thats not fair plain and simple one rule for one and another for another