Standard Life

[Oddquine]

I find it incredible that you seem to think that we will somehow get a different class of competant, ethical and well meaning politicians that can only be found in this part of the country.

An addendum to my previous post......and it can be said no better than Alex Salmond said it in his New statesman lecture the other day......so I quote......

Prof Tony Travers of the London School for Economics has said: “London is the dark star of the economy, inexorably sucking in resources, people and energy. Nobody quite knows how to control it.”


David Cameron argued before he became Prime Minister that “an economy with such a narrow foundation for growth is fundamentally wasteful and unstable.”

Yet his record is weaker than his words. A couple of years ago the Institute of Public Policy for the Regions published a report – “On the Wrong Track”. It found that public spending on major transport Infrastructure amounted to £2,600 per head in London– and £5 per head in the north east of England.

I’m First Minister of Scotland – meaning all of Scotland. If the government I lead were responsible for such massive disparities, we wouldn’t stand a chance of re-election.

And in the end.....that is what all political parties do, whichever country they are in..... as much or as little, as they can in order to be elected/re-elected. But, in the case of Scotland within the UK (and to be fair many areas outside the South East of England as well...there is no need to do much.......because re the Tories.....they know it won't get them votes/seats in predominantly NuLabour voting constituencies, so they concentrate the largesse where it will do them most good.......and NuLabour knows that even now, if they stick a red rosette on a donkey in the traditional Labour heartlands (as they often do, imo)...it will get elected.....so they have no real need to produce policies to benefit the whole country either.

Difference is, and I feel it will apply with any future Scottish Party of any colour in an Independent Scotland, all our votes will count....and all our MPs will be Scotland focused. There will be no Scottish Branches of UK focused parties, with their MPs just marking time until they are elevated to Westminster or the House of Lords.

What we vote in Scotland makes not a whit of difference in the UK General Election scheme of things..we can do better for ourselves if independent, I think....but at least certainly couldn't do worse.

[ducati]

An addendum to my previous post......and it can be said no better than Alex Salmond said it in his New statesman lecture the other day......so I quote......

Prof Tony Travers of the London School for Economics has said: “London is the dark star of the economy, inexorably sucking in resources, people and energy. Nobody quite knows how to control it.”


David Cameron argued before he became Prime Minister that “an economy with such a narrow foundation for growth is fundamentally wasteful and unstable.”

Yet his record is weaker than his words. A couple of years ago the Institute of Public Policy for the Regions published a report – “On the Wrong Track”. It found that public spending on major transport Infrastructure amounted to £2,600 per head in London– and £5 per head in the north east of England.

I’m First Minister of Scotland – meaning all of Scotland. If the government I lead were responsible for such massive disparities, we wouldn’t stand a chance of re-election.

And in the end.....that is what all political parties do, whichever country they are in..... as much or as little, as they can in order to be elected/re-elected. But, in the case of Scotland within the UK (and to be fair many areas outside the South East of England as well...there is no need to do much.......because re the Tories.....they know it won't get them votes/seats in predominantly NuLabour voting constituencies, so they concentrate the largesse where it will do them most good.......and NuLabour knows that even now, if they stick a red rosette on a donkey in the traditional Labour heartlands (as they often do, imo)...it will get elected.....so they have no real need to produce policies to benefit the whole country either.

Difference is, and I feel it will apply with any future Scottish Party of any colour in an Independent Scotland, all our votes will count....and all our MPs will be Scotland focused. There will be no Scottish Branches of UK focused parties, with their MPs just marking time until they are elevated to Westminster or the House of Lords.

What we vote in Scotland makes not a whit of difference in the UK General Election scheme of things..we can do better for ourselves if independent, I think....but at least certainly couldn't do worse.

Just picking up on the infrastructure spend. Devolved as you know. And guess what? The money is being spent on a new crossing for the Forth (the second one in 10 years) and trams in Edinburgh. How is that different to the spending on the London underground and commuter routes into London?