Scotland’s block grant to be ‘lowest since devolution’, SNP MP claims

[Neo]

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https://www.irishnews.com/resizer/v2/WP2DRYSGIRP7LBVDRLW6X4YIIY.jpg?smart=true&auth=c5d6a0540626c02d2a73e7a71d47c75ebdcc2c42b40a0 b67c852a8265bde8ad2&width=800&height=450
A Saltire-patterned purse with coins
An SNP MP has accused the UK Government of leaving Scotland short-changed after analysis revealed the block grant will be the lowest since devolution.
Pete Wishart, the party’s longest-serving MP, has said the Scottish Government’s funding from Westminster would exacerbate the cost crisis facing households.
His comments come ahead of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s spring Budget on Wednesday.
Analysis from the House of Commons Library suggests that Scotland’s block grant will consist of just 3.5% of UK Government spending in 2023/24 and 2024/25, according to the Autumn Statement plans.
https://www.irishnews.com/news/uk/scotlands-block-grant-to-be-lowest-since-devolution-snp-mp-claims-KO6WDZ5QSJKHRLH5L2V4C7QQQY/

Of course SNP moan and whine on everything Westminster gives Scotland, its own mismanagement causes all Scotland's problems, not Westminster funding.

[pollycy]

For those of us (like me) who are completely unfamiliar with the Scottish "block grant", I found this short piece that may be useful. Link: Government finance - gov.scot (https://www.gov.scot/policies/government-finance/#:~:text=Block%20grant,-The%20block%20grant&text=The%20amount%20each%20year%20is,the%20block%2 0grant%20is%20reduced).

As a dispassionate observer in the States, I will only add that in my perception the whole of Great Britain has been in ruinous, persistent decline ever since August 1914.

[Neo]

For those of us (like me) who are completely unfamiliar with the Scottish "block grant", I found this short piece that may be useful. Link: Government finance - gov.scot (https://www.gov.scot/policies/government-finance/#:~:text=Block%20grant,-The%20block%20grant&text=The%20amount%20each%20year%20is,the%20block%2 0grant%20is%20reduced).

As a dispassionate observer in the States, I will only add that in my perception the whole of Great Britain has been in ruinous, persistent decline ever since August 1914.
How astute of you.

We should be the richest country in Europe.

[dinosaur]

When I do genealogy, I can generally find English census, birth, marriage, and death records in online indexes or transcriptions, and then can order copies to verify they are correct for my ancestral records. The last time I looked, Scotland had all their indexes and transcriptions behind a paywall, and charged by the page to view. Anyone who knows about genealogy work knows you have to look at lots and lots of pages to find the one page you are looking for. Having to pay for each view makes the process unaffordable.

I haven't looked lately, but last time I checked, Scotland would not even agree to a reasonable fee from ancestrydotcom to make the records viewable behind Ancestry's paywall. The USA is a huge market of immigrants, many who enjoy tracing their ancestral roots. To borrow an English old dinosaur phrase ... Penny wise, and Pound foolish!

[pollycy]

How astute of you.

We should be the richest country in Europe.

Yes, what's befallen Great Britain over the course of the last 110 years is an immense tragedy. Indeed, prior to 1914, the UK constituted the greatest and wealthiest empire in the modern world. But, by the time Churchill was finally gone, the damage had been done.

I've always marveled at how quickly the British voted Churchill out of office as Prime Minister less than three months after supposedly "winning" World War II. The irony? Within another thirty years, the defeated nation of Germany became the economic powerhouse of Europe.

[Neo]

Yes, what's befallen Great Britain over the course of the last 110 years is an immense tragedy. Indeed, prior to 1914, the UK constituted the greatest and wealthiest empire in the modern world. But, by the time Churchill was finally gone, the damage had been done.

I've always marveled at how quickly the British voted Churchill out of office as Prime Minister less than three months after supposedly "winning" World War II. The irony? Within another thirty years, the defeated nation of Germany became the economic powerhouse of Europe.
British army officers after the war helped reconstruct factories and facilities to help the German economy, VW especially can thank a British Major.

[pollycy]

British army officers after the war helped reconstruct factories and facilities to help the German economy, VW especially can thank a British Major.

You're right -- after WWII ended, the next big panic was to get Germany back on its feet in order to keep the Soviet Union from taking over everything in Western Europe all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. So, we Americans initiated the Berlin Airlift, pumped billions of dollars into West Germany, and you know the rest.

Anyway, back somewhat on topic, Scotland to me is really an enigma. The Scots seem to have hated the English for hundreds of years, and yet ever since Culloden the hatred mutated into an odd sort of 'love-hate'. The Irish made their escape just over a hundred years ago from the growing tragedy that overtook Great Britain, and the Irish are much better off today as a result, with a vibrant economy and a growing GDP.

But Scotland? Its ancestors withstood the Roman Empire, but the poor Scots never could quite wrest themselves free from London. Pity.

[Neo]

But Scotland? Its ancestors withstood the Roman Empire, but the poor Scots never could quite wrest themselves free from London. Pity.

Didnt Agricola AD79 receive his 15th acclamation for his victories in Scotland?

We have a statue of Agricola near me at Bath.

https://i.postimg.cc/Y00bQW8k/IMG-9737.jpg (https://postimg.cc/T58V6hZH)

[pollycy]

Didnt Agricola AD79 receive his 15th acclamation for his victories in Scotland?

We have a statue of Agricola near me at Bath.

https://i.postimg.cc/Y00bQW8k/IMG-9737.jpg (https://postimg.cc/T58V6hZH)

"Romans held most of their Caledonian territory only a little over 40 years; they probably only held Scottish land for about 80 years." Scotland during the Roman Empire - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_during_the_Roman_Empire)


Emperor Hadrian ordered that famous wall that bears his name to be built in 122 AD to keep the rebellious Caledonian ('Scottish') tribes out. I'd love to see it, and evidently tours of all 72 miles of it are very popular: https://newcastletourcompany.com/north-east-england/hadrians-wall/

But more than that, I'd most love to see the beautiful Lake District in England! Scotland's mountains are impressive, but here in Colorado my living room is almost 2,000 feet higher in altitude than Scotland's Ben Nevis, the highest peak in all the UK and the British Isles. But those extraordinary vistas in your Lake District must really be incomparable.

[Neo]

Crickley hill overlooks my part of the shire, looking down from the escarpment the whole vale of Gloucestershire can be seen.

Crickley hill was an Iron Age Fort the Romans would have headed for before descending into the valley.
https://i.postimg.cc/C1R9VMZp/IMG-9738.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Neo]

Why my tax bill is so high






22% of working age people in England, Scotland and Wales were economically inactive (out of work and not looking for a job) in 2022
33% of people from the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group were economically inactive – the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups, followed by people from ‘other’ ethnic groups, 28%
15% of people from the white ‘other’ ethnic group were economically inactive – the lowest percentage out of all ethnic groups

[Big Wheeler]

"Romans held most of their Caledonian territory only a little over 40 years; they probably only held Scottish land for about 80 years." Scotland during the Roman Empire - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_during_the_Roman_Empire)


Emperor Hadrian ordered that famous wall that bears his name to be built in 122 AD to keep the rebellious Caledonian ('Scottish') tribes out. I'd love to see it, and evidently tours of all 72 miles of it are very popular: https://newcastletourcompany.com/north-east-england/hadrians-wall/

But more than that, I'd most love to see the beautiful Lake District in England! Scotland's mountains are impressive, but here in Colorado my living room is almost 2,000 feet higher in altitude than Scotland's Ben Nevis, the highest peak in all the UK and the British Isles. But those extraordinary vistas in your Lake District must really be incomparable.
My eldest daughter lives in Newcastle upon Tyne at the eastern end of the wall.A suburb of the city is Wallsend,named for obvious reasons.She likes to undertake walking the full length to Carlisle.The wall is in decent condition with numerous forts etc.along its length.Villages,refreshment points and campsites are numerous.

Scotland and our Lake District are picturesque and worth the visit.We Brits sometime talk about our mountains but it is embarrassing compared with the USA and other countries.As you say Ben Nevis is 4840 ft.Highest peak in England is Scafell Pike at 3216 ft.Our mountainous spine,the pennines,only top 3000 ft.in a few places.Barely a ripple by US standards.

[old dog]

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https://www.irishnews.com/resizer/v2/WP2DRYSGIRP7LBVDRLW6X4YIIY.jpg?smart=true&auth=c5d6a0540626c02d2a73e7a71d47c75ebdcc2c42b40a0 b67c852a8265bde8ad2&width=800&height=450
A Saltire-patterned purse with coins
An SNP MP has accused the UK Government of leaving Scotland short-changed after analysis revealed the block grant will be the lowest since devolution.


So Block Grants are like Revenue Sharing. I'd rather have lower taxes but you Brits have a plan and a formula. What's the problem? And what's "devolution"?

PS Why do all modern European coins look like they came out of a Cracker Jack box?

[Neo]

So Block Grants are like Revenue Sharing. I'd rather have lower taxes but you Brits have a plan and a formula. What's the problem? And what's "devolution"?

PS Why do all modern European coins look like they came out of a Cracker Jack box?

Devaloltion is just a name for letting them have their own government, but the real power of government stays in Westminster.

we adopted our own coin design similar to the EU coinage, but ours stayed being Sterling not EU coinage


EU coins.
https://i.postimg.cc/qqfwLnPH/IMG-9739.jpg (https://postimages.org/)


You can see a similar design?

[pollycy]

Why my tax bill is so high






22% of working age people in England, Scotland and Wales were economically inactive (out of work and not looking for a job) in 2022
33% of people from the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group were economically inactive – the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups, followed by people from ‘other’ ethnic groups, 28%
15% of people from the white ‘other’ ethnic group were economically inactive – the lowest percentage out of all ethnic groups



My German friends tell me remarkably similar stories about the situation there. Fewer and fewer people actually have full-time jobs, and fewer are even seriously trying to get full-time employment. Huge numbers of people in Germany, "foreign and domestic" just lay around on their ass and get 'free stuff' from the government -- and the amount of the handouts is eye-popping!

I thought that part of the reason that the UK got out of the EU was to avoid the kind of economic catastrophe and forced integration of migrants into its population. It sounds like the UK has its own almost identical kind of problem.

[Neo]

My German friends tell me remarkably similar stories about the situation there. Fewer and fewer people actually have full-time jobs, and fewer are even seriously trying to get full-time employment. Huge numbers of people in Germany, "foreign and domestic" just lay around on their ass and get 'free stuff' from the government -- and the amount of the handouts is eye-popping!

I thought that part of the reason that the UK got out of the EU was to avoid the kind of economic catastrophe and forced integration of migrants into its population. It sounds like the UK has its own almost identical kind of problem.

The commonwealth hordes are invited here..but! They have to earn money to live...Pakistanis do the medical reason not to work, it's the reason why the NHS is up shit creek.