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. 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. The UK produces less than 60% of the food it consumes. The data set was published with a warning:“Please use with caution as these statistics are particularly liable to revision as the data source… 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. ©Copyright 2001-2020. This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies. When asked, 43% said they hoped Scotland remained part of the Union. Jake: 1/10/12 3:52 PM: Was having this discussion with a Scot and he was adamant that with the oil, Scotland paid more money to England than it received in subsidies. But there are a few difficulties. To be honest, we totally forgot about it until someone reminded us. 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.”. The focus groups in the Ashcroft poll were conducted with voters of different political outlooks in Bexley, south-east London, and Newcastle upon Tyne. Some 40 per cent of people in England believe the system which gives Scots more public funding per … Photograph: Getty. 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 stats only cover 1980/81 to 2011/12 (that’s 32 years), and recent years are missing. Ian Blackford said Scotland “has subsidised the rest of the UK in most of the last 40-year period”. It would be interesting to update Prof Ashcroft’s findings to construct a time series of fully comparable data. 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. English resentment towards Scotland's subsidies has nearly doubled in just seven years. This is at the heart of the “Scotland subsidises the rest of the UK” argument. 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 … Showing 1-73 of 73 messages. THE majority of people in England believe they subsidise Scotland , according to a new Lord Ashcroft poll. 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. 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. 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. The report in its entirety can be read here. The stats only cover 1980/81 to 2011/12 (that’s 32 years), and recent years are missing. 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. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? Scotland does get more in UK public spending than it puts back in revenues - but how much depends heavily on how you account for North Sea oil. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. 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. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO 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. In the late 13th century, King Edward I conquered the western Principality of Wales, claiming it as a territory of England. 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​. 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. Is it true? 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. For 42 years, public spending across Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales has been based around something called the Barnett formula. "Scots will subsidise the rest of the UK to the tune of almost £800 a head in this coming year alone. 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. so if scotland is revenue neutral, but london subsidies the rest of the country by 20%, why does scotland get an extra £1500 per head more than london. 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. How does government decide which areas of England go into which Tiers. Government spending in Scotland averaged £10,212 … > >>> 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. But they don’t cover the 1980s, or tell us whether estimates for those years included in the experimental data would now be revised. 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. 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). A new Ashcroft poll found English adults were more likely to think Scotland benefits disproportionately from the Union than Northern Ireland does. It's the other way round, Scotland subsidies England. 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. 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. Published from its offices at 200 Renfield Street Glasgow and printed in Scotland by Newsquest (Herald & Times) a division of Newsquest Media Group Ltd, registered in England & Wales with number 01676637 at Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe HP10 9TY – a Gannett company. Data from the UK Government’s Office for National Statistics demonstrates in simple terms the distribution of personal wealth in the UK. 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. Wings Over Scotland marked its ninth birthday earlier this month. 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. In … > Other complaints centred on the perceived unfairness of the Barnett formula and notions that Scots “hate the English”. The lack of directly comparable data for the most recent years is particularly important, because oil prices crashed after these experimental figures were published, weakening the fiscal position of a notional independent Scotland. Does England subsidise Scotland? Scotland Subsidises England Archived. A Gannett Company. 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. Northern Ireland and Scotland attracted the highest expenditure per head, at £14,020 and £13,050 respectively, with the lowest expenditure per person in the south-east and east of England … 0 psy7ch Posts: 9,890 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. An SNP spokesman told FactCheck: “We have demonstrated to you using official government statistics that Ian Blackford’s comments are correct. I always Scotland emerged from the First and Second Wars of Scottish Independen… “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. 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​. 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.”.