Scots bonus formula ‘has to be axed’ says Labour think tank
The spending formula that means Scots get 25 per cent more in taxpayer money than the English should be scrapped, New Labour’s favourite think tank said yesterday.
It warned that the unfairly large amounts of public money being pumped north of the border are putting a strain on unity.
The Institute for Public Policy Research called for Scotland to receive money from the Treasury in exactly the same way that cash is allocated to other regions.
And it said that if Scottish politicians want any more, they should be given powers to raise it in taxation from the Scots themselves.
Extra money goes to Scotland under the Barnett formula, a system worked out in the 1970s by then Labour Treasury minister Joel Barnett. Currently, Scots receive £5,676 each in public spending, whereas the English average is £4,523.
The report comes as Gordon Brown faces deepening problems with Scots voters. He is at risk of losing the once rock-solid seat of Glasgow East in a by-election.
Spotted in The Daily Mail
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 6:23 am by wonkotsane, is filed under Barnett Formula, Press and tagged with Barnett Formula, Daily Mail.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
