THE POLITICS OF EXPEDIENCY

A recent enquiry to Oliver Letwin about the recent report of the £9.3billion deficit in Scotland, which the English are having to pay, has elicited the following response:

‘Oliver Letwin has asked me to thank you for your letter of 17 January in which you argue against the Barnett formula.

We are committed to maintaining the Block and Barnett Formula as the basis for funding the expenditure programmes of the Scottish Executive. It is an intrinsic feature of the devolution settlement and has provided an important measure of financial stability and continuity since the Scottish Parliament was established.

However, a Conservative Government is committed to matching Gordon Brown’s spending plans for Scotland which will not be possible with a strict application of the Barnett Formula. That is why we will supplement the funding of the Scottish Executive over these years, something which has happened on a number of occasions in the past such as Gordon Brown’s decision in December 2001 to write off Glasgow City Council’s £900 million housing debt.

It is all about making devolution work. We accept the logic of devolution and the fact that the Conservatives will not be in charge of devolved services after the General Election. The James Committee did not look at savings in Scottish Executive Departments for this reason. In the interests of the stability of the devolution settlement at a time of potential tension, we have therefore decided to maintain spending in Scotland at the same level as Gordon Brown for the time being.

In the run up to the next Scottish Parliament Elections, Scottish Conservatives will be campaigning on a similar programme of public service reform and eradication of waste which will deliver better value for money and better public services in Scotland.’

Words cannot express the despair at this response. There is little wonder that the Conservatives have been so soundly defeated in the last 2 general elections and are set to be trounced again. Nor is there any wonder that all those values and principles which we value so much are being destroyed in the neo-communist politically correct onslaught.

The Scottish parliament has tax raising powers and if they decide to spend money in excess of what they can pay for out of existing resources, then they can put up their own taxes. There is absolutely no reason why English taxes should be raised as a result of a socialist Scottish spending programme.

The Conservatives give no thought at all to the interests and rights of the English. They are totally unfit for government and we, the English, need a new party to represent our interests and to fight to save our country from becoming nothing more than an EU satellite, and a neo-communist state - albeit a useful milch cow.