Its my info to share - not yours to use to cast aspersions.
I am glad you have finally remembered that
Where does the money come from now? All the money raised in Scotland goes to Westminster just now. All that money will stay in Scotland. VAT, road Fund tax also will stay in Scotland. Money from borrowing will stay in Scotland. Money saved from not paying ATOS, not funding the massive number of benefit appeals, not mitigating the effects of the Bedroom Tax, money saved from Trident, money saved from the high speed rail link, money saved from London Sewer Projects will stay in Scotland; Money from the high performing industries that we have will stay in Scotland - food and drink, tourism, creative industries. Money from business growth and inward investment will stay in Scotland. Money from oil and Gas will stay in Scotland. That money will be available to spend on Scotland's priorities. This is set out here in http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/05/4084 Check it out for yourselves.
Couple of figures for you - Scotland has 8.4 percent of the population and accounts for 9.9% of all UK Taxes collected.
If we look at Welfare, Scotland currently spends less on Welfare as a percentage of GDP than the UK and most other European Countries.
An Independent Scotland will not have MPs nor will there be the house of Lords.
If you are asking how will the Scottish Voters Influence the Parliament of n Independent Scotland anymore than they do now then there are several ways that this is proposed. Firstly there will be prior to the date of Independence a Written Constitution.(i know i know Rags you HATE the idea of written constititution but this is what is planned - just cos you dont like the answer does not mean there is no answer.) A written Constitution will set out how our Democracy will work. It will be drawn up by the people of Scotland and work is already underway to explore the issues and how they will be represented in written constitution. The White Paper has a whole section devoted to what a written constitution means, how it will be drawn up and what is planned to include.(page 351 - if you want a copy then pm me and i will see you get one) A written constitution will bind future governments to standards set out from day one of an Independent Scotland.
Contrast this with the plan to give rights to Constituents to get rid of MPs found to be doing something wrong which was summarily dumped recently by the UK government. Finally, as it stands now, Scotland's voters are unable to make any difference to the result in Westminster. In all but two or three of the elections since the war, the result of each General Election would have been the same without Scotland's votes. in an Independent Scotland if the result is for a Green Party Majority Government then that is what we will get; if for a Tory/LibDEm coalition then that is what we will get. If we vote for a Labour Government then we WONT get a Tory/LibDem Coalition. That instantly improves voter influence in one fell swoop because if we can vote a government Scotland Chooses IN then we can vote a government OUT too.
A report today suggests that the biggest threat to Scotland's financial sector is not the lack of a currency union but the lack of skilled IT specialists over the next few years. We cannot meet those needs without immigration and the main change that is proposed in an Independent Scotland is that we reintroduce the post study visa - therefore encouraging more skilled and talented people to finish studying and go on to stay and work here. The effect of an influx of lower paid workers on other lower paid workers will really depend on how much they are paid - the plan to ensure the minimum wage is increased in line with inflation ( not happening now) and to work towards introducing a living wage will ensure that ALL workers' wages improve. I certainly dont agree that the only immigrants coming to Scotland will be low skilled and and low paid workers. That is the same sort of argument that suggested we would be standing room only when Bulgaria and Romania were able to travel and work freely within the EU - that hasnt happened.
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