Can anyone say if

[BCram]

Hi Islay. I think the perhead comparisons are unhelpful. The point, I was trying to tease out was that the block grant to Scotland was more than the amount of tax raised in Scotland. This is the fundamental point for those who think Scotland could easily be a strong independent country. They think that Scotland sends more tax to Westminster than they get back in block grant.
Not giving Scotland money that has been raised in Scotland just seems wrong. It was the reason for the It's Scotlands Oil slogan which was so effective. It was a fact that Scotland would have significant surpluses if the oil revenues were attributed to Scotland. I think this was a simplistic approach because the costs of the infrastructure was not calculated and included against the revenues.

[noahrab]

Hi Islay. I think the perhead comparisons are unhelpful. The point, I was trying to tease out was that the block grant to Scotland was more than the amount of tax raised in Scotland. This is the fundamental point for those who think Scotland could easily be a strong independent country. They think that Scotland sends more tax to Westminster than they get back in block grant.
Not giving Scotland money that has been raised in Scotland just seems wrong. It was the reason for the It's Scotlands Oil slogan which was so effective. It was a fact that Scotland would have significant surpluses if the oil revenues were attributed to Scotland. I think this was a simplistic approach because the costs of the infrastructure was not calculated and included against the revenues.

Its not ‘Scotlands Oil’ though.

Never has been.

[islaydarkblue]

Hi Islay. I think the perhead comparisons are unhelpful. The point, I was trying to tease out was that the block grant to Scotland was more than the amount of tax raised in Scotland. This is the fundamental point for those who think Scotland could easily be a strong independent country. They think that Scotland sends more tax to Westminster than they get back in block grant.
Not giving Scotland money that has been raised in Scotland just seems wrong. It was the reason for the It's Scotlands Oil slogan which was so effective. It was a fact that Scotland would have significant surpluses if the oil revenues were attributed to Scotland. I think this was a simplistic approach because the costs of the infrastructure was not calculated and included against the revenues.

I suggest that you read the latest annual GERS figures which shows that Scotland receives more in funds from the Barnett Formula than it earns in taxation.
It is the taxation on oil retrieved from Scottish waters which would go to the Scottish Government exchequer.
In 2016 Nicola Sturgeon begged the U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer to reduce the taxation charged on a barrel of oil due to the low price of a barrel of oil at that time to keep oil workers in a job.
It is a pity that Shona Robison does not realise that high income tax imposed by the Scottish Government will drive businesses south of the border into England.
However if the residents of the Orkney and Shetland isles decide not to join an independent Scotland then the Scottish Government has a major problem.
There are large oil terminals in both the Orkney and Shetland isles and they could keep the taxation from every barrel oil piped into their own oil terminals for themselves.
The main oilfields in the North Sea are beginning to run out of oil with the main oilfields now being west of the Shetland isles.
The bulk of the whisky distilleries in Scotland are either foreign or English owned which means that they will not be paying corporation tax to an independent Scottish Government.

[BCram]

Thought I .might bring back this topic and see if Farage will benefit in Scotland by advocating a review of the Barnet formula?

[The AuldYin]

Thought I .might bring back this topic and see if Farage will benefit in Scotland by advocating a review of the Barnet formula?

Has he mentioned doing so? Can't see any right wing party doing well in Scotland, we've far too many scroungers for that.

[BCram]

Has he mentioned doing so? Can't see any right wing party doing well in Scotland, we've far too many scroungers for that.

Yes, plays well in England. Even if he won every Scottish seat for Westminster, as the SNP found out it is a complete waste of time. By all means vote SNP in Scotland, if you think they are doing a good job running the country, but if you want to help Scotland vote Labour, Liberal or Conservative if you want to have a hope of being on a winning team with a place at the top table.
Think Farage is struggling because of the failure of Trump to Make America Great Again.

By the way, I think it was support for the wars in Europe that transferred so much of our wealth to them to pay for their support.

[BCram]

Yes, plays well in England. Even if he won every Scottish seat for Westminster, as the SNP found out it is a complete waste of time. By all means vote SNP in Scotland, if you think they are doing a good job running the country, but if you want to help Scotland vote Labour, Liberal or Conservative if you want to have a hope of being on a winning team with a place at the top table.
Think Farage is struggling because of the failure of Trump to Make America Great Again.

By the way, I think it was support for the wars in Europe that transferred so much of our wealth to them to pay for their support.

Interesting result. Labour win because the Nationalists think Farage is on the same path as them, and vote for him. Spinney persuaded his voters that the Farage would/could win and that solidified the Labour vote, and yet again Scots vote to stop a party rather than for a party they belive in. Starmer's Labour now is no more true to its roots. Interesting times.

[The AuldYin]

Interesting result. Labour win because the Nationalists think Farage is on the same path as them, and vote for him. Spinney persuaded his voters that the Farage would/could win and that solidified the Labour vote, and yet again Scots vote to stop a party rather than for a party they belive in. Starmer's Labour now is no more true to its roots. Interesting times.

I think the SNP are finished, it's been a steady decline since Sturgeon and her man bailed out. Yousaf was a disaster for them and Swinney not much better. Some of the battles they chose to fight were very strange especially the transgender and recycling palaver but looks like their biggest mistake was ignoring Farage. The carry on about "far right summit" and refusing to invite Reform was at best childish.

[BCram]

Think we are a socialist/clan based type of society. Not sure that Farage actually should bother about Scotland. He is deffo more interested in England and his statements about the Barnett Formula are very like the Trump message that Europe has been riding on the back of US military spending. Scrapping Barnett formula would be very interesting. Not sure of the arithmetic but ?2000 per head say 6m Scots works out at ?12bn. God knows how Scotland would cope with that kind of cut in the block grant. Maybe tell the Greens that we need to use the gas and oil in the North Sea?

[noahrab]

I think the SNP are finished, it's been a steady decline since Sturgeon and her man bailed out. Yousaf was a disaster for them and Swinney not much better. Some of the battles they chose to fight were very strange especially the transgender and recycling palaver but looks like their biggest mistake was ignoring Farage. The carry on about "far right summit" and refusing to invite Reform was at best childish.

The SNP calling any party ?right wing? then trying to stop them campaigning.

Irony personified.