SCOTS RAJ

SCOTS RAJ

Below is a copy of an article which originally appeared in the Scottish edition of the Sunday Times this Sunday:

‘‘Scots Raj’’ effect shows up in poll
Jason Allardyce
'SCOTTISH MPs should be banned from ministerial jobs in charge of English affairs, according to a poll of British voters by The Sunday Times.
More than two-thirds of those polled believe Scottish MPs should not be allowed to vote on laws that apply solely to England and almost 80% think too much public money is spent on Scotland.
The evidence of mounting concern among English voters follows Jeremy Paxman’s claims in The Sunday Times last month that England is being ruled by ““a Scottish Raj””. There were six Scots in the cabinet before the election was called —— Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, John Reid, Alistair Darling, Ian McCartney and Lord Falconer. The apparent anti-Scottish backlash among voters will have to be taken on board by whoever wins the election.
The Tory leader Michael Howard is committed to banning Scottish MPs from Commons votes on matters that have been devolved to Holyrood, but he has no plans to limit the role of Scots in the cabinet and has pledged to retain the Barnett formula, which means public spending in Scotland is 20% higher per head than in England.
The poll of nearly 1,500 voters, conducted last week, found that English concerns have hardened in recent months after the support of Scots MPs allowed Blair to force through unpopular plans for university top-up fees in English and Welsh universities.
English politicians and campaigners have also complained that high levels of funding from Westminster have allowed Scots to benefit from free personal care for the elderly and the abolition of student tuition fees. Neither policy has been introduced in England.
A similar poll by YouGov in February last year found that 46% of voters were opposed to Scots MPs being in charge of English affairs. That figure has risen by 14 points to 60%.
The proportion who believe only English MPs should vote on purely English matters has risen three points to 70%.
Opposition to higher spending in Scotland —— designed to take account of the greater cost of providing public services to a more widely-dispersed population —— has risen from 60% to 76% over the same period.
Despite rising dissatisfaction with what many English voters see as Scots’’ undue influence in their affairs, people across Britain retain an attachment to the union. Almost 60% say they would prefer Scotland to remain within the UK.
So, let me get this right, only about 59%(?) of respondents, from throughout Britain, want Scotland to remain in the Union. It looks as though the English electorate are coming round to the same opinion as the SNP: the United Kingdom's constitution is a complete dog's breakfast, and it is rapidly becoming time to call the whole game a bogey. That does not sound like a very strong "attachment to the Union" to me.
Will Gordon Brown ever be Prime Minister? I doubt it very much. And John Reid's and Alastair Darling's swazzy southern jobs are on gey shooglie nails too.'

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UPDATE:

Today's Sunday Times - Scotland has another article, elaborating on this poll. It was conducted by YouGov:

Powers of Scottish MPs could be curbed as England wakes up
Is it time for a backlash? ask Jason Allardyce and Kenny Farquharson
'It suggests an immediate danger for Tony Blair if he chooses to keep John Reid and Alistair Darling in charge of English departments or to promote others like Douglas Alexander, his ambitious junior foreign office minister.
So were the soothsayers right to warn that the biggest constitutional reforms in 300 years under new Labour, with the advent of devolution in Scotland and Wales, would stoke the flames of English nationalism? Are we finally witnessing the break up of Britain that Tam Dalyell described as an inevitable consequence? Some believe Tony Blair —— or Gordon Brown —— must confront the English question soon or risk a backlash from voters south of the border that could leave Labour’’s electoral prospects, if not the Union, in serious doubt.
Darren Foster, of the Campaign for an English Parliament, who believes the opinion poll accurately reflects a hardening of attitudes, says the English are becoming fed up with being treated as “second-class citizens”.
Foster talks about devolution as having created a “democratic deficit”, with controversial English policies imposed by Scots MPs only accountable to voters north of the border where such policies do not apply because they are devolved to Edinburgh.
“We believe the dominant presence of Scottish MPs at Westminster in Tony Blair’s government has contributed to the huge constitutional disparity between England and the other countries of the UK. It is a gross abuse to democratic accountability that the Secretaries of State for Health (Reid) and for Transport (Darling) are held by MPs who do not represent a constituency in the same country where their policies are delivered.”
Peter Kellner, the chairman of YouGov, believes a series of close votes in the Commons and Paxman’’s comments has focused minds. “I don’’t think the English go around in their conversations in pubs saying: ‘‘Isn’t it scandalous how many Scots there are in the cabinet,’’ but when it is drawn to their attention they get hacked off. If the Tories made a real play of how much money the Scots get they would be on to something. But they would have to give up on Scotland,” he said.
William Hague flirted with the idea while Tory leader but the message from Michael Howard is loud and clear: there will be no changes to the spending formula. He will come under pressure to abandon that position after the election, however.
Andrew Rosindell, the Conservative party’s vice chairman, is one of many senior Tory figures who believe England is not getting a fair deal.
Thus far Howard has been prepared only to sign up to a ban on Scots MPs from voting on English matters. The Campaign for an English Parliament believes matters could come to a head if, as expected, Gordon Brown succeeds Tony Blair as prime minister after the election.
Kellner disagrees, arguing that Brown would enjoy a honeymoon because, regardless of his nationality, British voters rate him as a stronger, more principled figure than Blair.
Gerry Hassan, a social and political commentator, believes the key factor will be the size of Labour’s majority. “If there is a Labour majority of 50 or under after the general election we get back into that murky, deep, dark water of having a Labour government relying on the votes of Scottish and Welsh MPs.
“In those circumstances the Tories could have a majority in England. That is going to bring all these questions to the surface and the Labour party is not well-prepared for the consequences. Scotland has slipped off the agenda down south but after May 5 it is going to come back and constitutional politics will be centre stage.”'