Normally we mark the anniversary with a small reflection and taking of stock over how things are going, but this year we couldn’t be bothered – we’d already mentioned readership stats in August.. Scotland’s total public sector revenue was just under £54 billion in 2015/16. But there are a few difficulties. Pro-EU English voters tended to believe that Brexit makes Scottish independence more likely, while Leave voters think it makes no difference, the poll found. But they haven’t been updated or revised since 2013. Showing 1-73 of 73 messages. Leave voters were the most likely to be of this opinion, especially Tory Leave voters, two thirds of whom say Scotland benefits most from being part of the Union, compared to one in five who think all parts of the UK benefit equally from its membership. The stats only cover 1980/81 to 2011/12 (that’s 32 years), and recent years are missing. The data set was published with a warning: “Please use with caution as these statistics are particularly liable to revision as the data sources and methods used to produce them are developed.”. Spending was £1200 more per head in Scotland than in the rest of the UK in 2015-16, while taxes raised per head were £400 lower, a gap of £1600. READ MORE: Latest poll reveals support for Scottish independence at 50 percent, The Ashcroft report states: “The widespread view that the English ‘pay for Scotland’ goes hand-in-hand with the knowledge that Scots get certain things – free NHS prescriptions and free university education – that are not available in England: in other words, that English taxpayers are paying for the Scots to have things that they don’t get themselves.”, “Moreover, it rankled with some of our English voters that Scotland seemed to show little affinity for the Union they felt they were paying to maintain: ‘It’s always Scotland. These Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland figures cover 1998/99 to 2018/19, and include revisions to some of the historical data included in the experimental release. Agricultural activity occurs in most rural locations, it is concentrated in East Anglia (for crops) and the South West (livestock). Nevertheless, official statistics on Scotland’s finances calculate how much tax revenue from a “geographical share” of North Sea oil and gas flows into UK coffers. The deal struck recently between the SNP and the Treasury means that income taxpayers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will continue to subsidise Scotland … We do have official statistics on Scotland’s finances, covering subsequent years. The report in its entirety can be read here. Agriculture in the United Kingdom uses 69% of the country's land area, employs 1.5% of its workforce (476,000 people) and contributes 0.6% of its gross value added (£9.9 billion). If Scotland get independence will England still have to subsidise them? But there are a few difficulties. Where does Scotland’s wealth go (if it doesn't stay here)? This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies. The Kingdom of England, formed in 927, gained the first U.K. state other than itself through invasion. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. The evidence shows that tax revenues per head in Scotland have been considerably higher than the UK – that has unquestionably subsidised UK public spending over the period. The report added: “Many English Leave voters saw many parallels between some Scots’ desire for self-determination and their own wish to leave the EU: ‘It’s similar in the way we want to control our own destiny. Wings Over Scotland marked its ninth birthday earlier this month. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. In … "Scots will subsidise the rest of the UK to the tune of almost £800 a head in this coming year alone. But the Scottish government has not updated the experimental statistics since 2013. The only figures we can find that go back far enough to shed any light on Ian Blackford’s claim are experimental stats published in 2013 which cover the 32 years from 1980/81 to 2011/12. The only statistics we know of that cover four decades of Scotland’s finances are these experimental datapublished by the Scottish government in 2013. Holocaust Denier Alistair McConnachie aka Manky Shirt/Manky Jaiket at the All Under One Banner march for independence in Edinburgh 05.10.2019, admitting that Scotland DOES subsidise … The data set was published with a warning:“Please use with caution as these statistics are particularly liable to revision as the data source… For 42 years, public spending across Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales has been based around something called the Barnett formula. Some 40 per cent of people in England believe the system which gives Scots more public funding per … > >>> running Scotland mount up, and they have to raise taxes to pay for it > >>> all, he can have his "finest hour" > > >> I am living in Scotland and expect HUGE tax rises before long:( Salmond > >> is keeping us sweet atm with free this and free that. A majority of English voters believe Scotland is subsidised by England, a new poll has revealed. What we can say is that, following reforms, the average subsidy per hectare of moorland in England increased from £30 in 2014 to £56 in 2015. THE majority of people in England believe they subsidise Scotland, according to a new Lord Ashcroft poll.. Leave voters were the most likely to be of this opinion, especially Tory Leave voters, two thirds of whom say Scotland benefits most from being part of the Union, compared to one in five who think all parts of the UK benefit equally from its membership. READ MORE: Huge majority of Tory Leave voters would ditch Scotland to secure Brexit. Huge majority of Tory Leave voters would ditch Scotland to secure Brexit, Latest poll reveals support for Scottish independence at 50 percent, Scottish independence soars ahead as Ashcroft poll predicts Yes win​. Back in 2013, it was possible to use these figures to back the idea that Scotland paid slightly more into the UK’s coffers than it took out. But there is another side to the argument: tax receipts have often been higher per head in Scotland, but so has public spending. That’s around 8% of the total revenue in the UK.In previous years the proportion of Scotland’s revenue collected has exceeded its proportion of the UK population, once North Sea revenue is included. Scotland Subsidises England Archived. The poll of 1558 English adults found respondents were more likely to think Scotland benefits disproportionately from the Union than Northern Ireland does. It's a simple question but not one often asked, probably as most economics bloggers like myself get bogged down in numbers and over-complicate the issue. > They hate the English’; ‘I don’t think the people who voted to stay were particularly attached – I think they just thought it was in their best interests.’”, READ MORE: Scottish independence soars ahead as Ashcroft poll predicts Yes win​. The word subsidise is a drastic oversimplification of extremely complex public expenditure. Other complaints centred on the perceived unfairness of the Barnett formula and notions that Scots “hate the English”. The higher tax revenues are largely explained by the fact that most of the UK’s oil and gas assets are located in the North Sea, off the coast of Scotland. By Scotsman ... (while four in ten say they don’t know whether they subsidise Scotland or not). A Gannett Company. Its position throughout the 2014 referendum was that the division of UK assets and debts would all be up for negotiation after an independence vote. In 1999 A Darling,G Brown and T Blair annexed 6000 square miles of the NORTH SEA to England via a statutory instrument thus avoiding having to go through parliament.Scotland lost 6 oil fields by this action.What effect does have on Scotlad and England’s Is it true? If you accept that the most of the oil and gas assets are really “Scottish”, it’s right to say historically, Scotland did often contribute more per capita than that UK average, particularly in the 1980s, when oil prices were sky-high and North Sea hydrocarbons were very lucrative for the UK. But the overall balance was close, according to one detailed analysis: even making concessions to nationalist arguments about Scotland’s likely historic debt, higher UK public spending on Scotland almost completely cancelled out any surplus created by “Scottish” oil. In 1974 the British government asked Professor Gavin McCrone to investigate what the finances of an independent Scotland would look like and the answer was that Scotland would be so embarrassingly rich that the UK government had to mark the report as secret and hide it from the public lest it spark calls for indipendence. In 2014/15 however, North Sea revenue had declined to the point that the revenue collected was slightly less than Scotland’s share of the population, whether No… The last referendum in 2014 was marked by heated debate over the economic prospects of an independent Scotland, and Mr Blackford repeated a claim that was put forward by nationalists at the time, that Scotland has historically “subsidised the rest of the UK”. To be honest, we totally forgot about it until someone reminded us. Although Tory Leavers were also the most likely to say that England subsidises Northern Ireland, there was a notable difference in that they are more likely to be happy with that arrangement. Ian Blackford, the leader of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons, states that Scotland has subsidised the rest of … “UK government figures make it absolutely clear that Scotland has subsidised the rest of the UK in most of the last 40-year period.” Ian Blackford. Rather than sending our wealth south to London … Are you sure you want to delete this comment? The stats only cover 1980/81 to 2011/12 (that’s 32 years), and recent years are missing. The geography is important because nationalist forecasts of an independent Scotland’s future wealth often depend on the idea that would be given a “geographical share” of the North Sea assets after independence. The fact that the Scottish government has not updated or revised these figures since 2013 makes it impossible for us to stand up Mr Blackford’s claim at the moment. Get involved with the news in your community, This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. In the late 13th century, King Edward I conquered the western Principality of Wales, claiming it as a territory of England. The only statistics we know of that cover four decades of Scotland’s finances are these experimental data published by the Scottish government in 2013. A new Ashcroft poll found English adults were more likely to think Scotland benefits disproportionately from the Union than Northern Ireland does. In fairness to nationalist arguments, the Ashcroft analysis did show that Scotland paid in slightly more than it took out per head, if you accepted that interest payments on UK debt should be subtracted from the accounts. Does Scotland really Subsidise England. Recent polling carried out in September by Lord Ashcroft found a majority for Scottish independence. ©Copyright 2001-2020. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. Bearing all that in mind, the 2013 figures do show that Scotland paid more per head into the coffers of the UK government than Britain as a whole in every year from 1980/81 to 2011/12. Tories were the most likely to say that England provides financial support to Scotland – three quarters believe this to be the case, and most of them are unhappy about it. It would be interesting to update Prof Ashcroft’s findings to construct a time series of fully comparable data. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. English resentment towards Scotland's subsidies has nearly doubled in just seven years. Scottish Government measures to ensure free university education and prescription charges were cited as reasons for a negative view of Scotland, the study said. Yet two conclusions seem clear. "The deficit per head in Scotland was £2,824 last year," says Nils Pratley in The Guardian. This is at the heart of the “Scotland subsidises the rest of the UK” argument. Scotland emerged from the First and Second Wars of Scottish Independen… A new poll from Lord Ashcroft has found that the majority of people in England believe they subsidise Scotland and other parts of the Union.. Does England subsidise Scotland? The Barnett Formula does indeed state that the Scots receive a larger share of the national pie than any other British region per head of population. The UK produces less than 60% of the food it consumes. But they don’t cover the 1980s, or tell us whether estimates for those years included in the experimental data would now be revised. Scotland want their independence, we want our independence from the EU for roughly the same reasons … Taking back control.’ “Remain voters also sympathised – especially with the wish not to be ‘taken out’ of the EU – but often ascribed more noble motives to the independence movement: ‘With Brexit, a lot of it was prejudice, ‘we don’t want foreigners in our country’. With Scotland it’s not as emotional.’”. It's the other way round, Scotland subsidies England. It won't last > >> and we will have to pay for it hugely when he gets the power he wants. So it is possible to construct the argument from these figures that Scotland paid slightly more in tax than it received in public spending per head from 1980/81 to 2011/12 – largely driven by the oil boom years of the ’80s. Data from the UK Government’s Office for National Statistics demonstrates in simple terms the distribution of personal wealth in the UK. Government spending in Scotland averaged £10,212 … Ian Blackford said Scotland “has subsidised the rest of the UK in most of the last 40-year period”. Ian Blackford said Scotland “has subsidised the rest of the UK in most of the last 40-year period”. Ian Blackford, the leader of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons, has been making the case for Scottish independence ahead of the general election. “We have also demonstrated how your argument about public spending does not take into account the costs to Scotland of servicing UK debt that would not have been required had we been independent. Overall, just over half believe that England subsidises Scotland financially. The gulf in state spending between Scotland and England has hit a record £1,600 per head. The focus groups in the Ashcroft poll were conducted with voters of different political outlooks in Bexley, south-east London, and Newcastle upon Tyne. Next, he invaded the northern Kingdom of Scotland, kicking off the First War of Scottish Independence (that’s the one in Braveheart). If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here. The idea here is based on a counterfactual that an independent Scotland would have generated a large surplus when oil prices peaked in the 1980s, and would have had lower borrowing costs than the UK. Back in 2013 Professor Brian Ashcroft of the University of Strathclyde looked at these experimental figures and found that the extra spending per capita on Scotland cancelled out the extra tax revenue almost exactly over the 32 years covered by the stats. Scotland has 99% GDP only behind London and SouthEast. But the calculation all depends on which years you include in the analysis, the assumption that most North Sea oil and gas is “Scotland’s” and the controversial idea that taxpayers in a hypothetical independent Scotland of the past would have paid little or no interest on national debt. The SNP are calling for a second independence referendum and say: “Next year we intend to offer the people of Scotland a choice over their future.”. But given the total area of grouse moors in England, it’s almost certain that total subsidies were worth significantly less than £84 million a year in 2015, and remain worth less than this today. How does government decide which areas of England go into which Tiers. They say ‘I’m not British, I’m Scottish’; ‘With the Barnett Formula they come out ahead, and they’re still moaning’; ‘I’ve got nothing against Scotland but if they want to be independent let’s stop paying the funds.’ “Indeed, some felt that those who had voted against independence in 2014 had done so for purely economic reasons: ‘My Scottish friends are worried about their pensions if they become independent. That’s if you add up the tax and spending in those years cumulatively, and if you make a number of assumptions about Scotland’s finances, all of which are subject to argument. An SNP spokesman told FactCheck: “We have demonstrated to you using official government statistics that Ian Blackford’s comments are correct. Statistics since 2013 their target audience – the local community the deficit head. Poll of 1558 English adults found respondents were more likely to think Scotland benefits disproportionately from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired callback! 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