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Scotland's parliament does have tax varying powers but has never used them . So, it takes the block grant from the Westminster parliament and decides how to spe
by majc2 12y ago
Scotland's parliament does have tax varying powers but has never used them . So, it takes the block grant from the Westminster parliament and decides how to spend it through something called the Barnett formula.
Scotland is essentially a socialist country (and socialist isn't a dirty word here). There is a sense of fair play and looking after the poorest in society - a party that would propose a tax cut for a smaller gov. wouldn't do well in the popular vote in Scotland.
Does that help?
- __chrismc 12y agoIt's worth pointing out that the only variance it can make under the existing powers is to _raise_ income taxes - this is why it's never been used. Doing so would be political suicide and see a population drain as those able to would quickly move "next door" to an England with lower taxes. The Barnett formula determines the size of the block grant, not the spending of it. The Scottish Government spends the grant according to its priorities. At the moment these include: free healthcare (including prescriptions), free higher education, and free care for the elderly.
- DanBC 12y ago> free healthcare (including prescriptions), For people not in the UK: people in England pay for each item on a prescription. The charge is currently £8.05 per item. You can get discounts if you need multiple items. There are a bunch of exemptions - people with a thyroid problem for example - which mean that about 90% of items are free. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nhs-charges-from-april-2014 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nhs-charges-from-april-20...
- majc2 12y agoIt should also be pointed out that its not entirely a one way street - for example England has the excellent Cancer Drug Fund, which Scotland doesn't. http://www.scotsman.com/news/health/scottish-cancer-patients-denied-medicine-fund-1-3117297 http://www.scotsman.com/news/health/scottish-cancer-patients...
- matthewmacleod 12y agoI would strongly disagree with the CDF being "excellent" – it's basically money cut from other NHS budgets and repurposed for expensive individual cancer therapies. At the very least, an expansion and improvement of the existing equivalent system in Scotland (individual treatment request) would offer a better solution for the need to fund individual specific treatments that haven't been widely approved.
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- StavrosK 12y agoBetter than not knowing what constructive debate is.
- davidw 12y agoThis is why I flag articles about politics, and why they are considered off topic in the guidelines. This is certainly a well-written, interesting article, but the discussions it's generating are going downhill fast.
- majc2 12y agoI guess it depends on your definition of socialist. It's the common term thats used here - the Labour party which until recently was the dominant force in Scottish politics is a member of the Party of European Socilaists. (source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8011001.stm#socialist http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8011001.stm#socialis...) I'd argue that the vast majority of Scots would be in favour of re-nationalising both the railways and royal mail. In the case of the railways, I think there is fairly broad support across the UK for that too.
- willyt 12y agoAlso Railways, Post and other infrastructure are all things that make perfect sense as nationalised industries. They often end up as monopolies anyway in a free market so they might as well be state monopolies with democratic accountability.
- keithpeter 12y agoOK< strictly Social Democratic. But the socialist term is widely used in UK discourse. PS: When I stayed in Glasgow for a short period about 30 years ago, a 'three way fight' in a constituency was Labour, Liberal and Communist.
- louhike 12y ago
- arethuza 12y agoI can think of one particular bit of government spending that a lot of people in Scotland would be absolutely delighted to get rid of. [Hint: they all begin with V and float]
- jiggy2011 12y agoYet the SNP wants to cut corporation tax in Scotland.