According to the
former Conservative Cabinet Minister, Michael
Portillo, Scotland
should get full fiscal autonomy with the authority to raise its own taxes and
set the rate of corporation tax and income tax. He also proposes an end to the
non-existent UK
subsidy for Scotland
and a resolution to the West Lothian Question.
There will be no
argument here against removing the Barnett Formula, although those who think
that this will increase and release any monies for the rest of the UK
are in for a disappointment.
For if Portillo
is really arguing for fiscal autonomy then the excise duty on fuel and alcohol
will remain north of the border. This is particularly pertinent as figures
recently released by the Tax Payers Alliance show that of the £2.5 billion
collected by the UK Government in Scotland
for 2009, only £1.1 billion was spent on transport infrastructure and tackling
emissions. A further loss would be the £1.75 billion collected from whiskey.
The West Lothian
Question is something that should have been addressed at the time of
Devolution. It is a ridiculous and undemocratic situation that allows Scottish
MPs to vote on purely English matters.
But the unique
selling point of Portillo’s proposal is that the Scots should get an
appropriate share of oil and gas revenues.
How very
generous of you Michael. But, how absurd.
One supposes
that the reasoning behind Mr Portillo’s
argument is that oil and gas are shared resources and that some division, along
the lines of population no doubt, is a fair and equitable arrangement.
But why stop at
oil and gas? Every other resource must then be considered shared. That includes
all the resources of England,
Wales and Northern
Ireland. Or is it just those resources that
obviously Scottish?
Another
example, many may think, of an out of touch Tory.
