KIRSTY Blackman of the SNP is quite right when she states that we cannot have the Barnett formula “ripped up in order to dish out large chunks of cash to Northern Ireland, in a grubby deal with the DUP, without fair treatment across the board” (“Hopes of Tory deal windfall dashed”, The Herald, June 16).
The Tories are contemplating nothing more than a bribe using taxpayers’ money in exchange for political favours. It had been reported that the Treasury had concerns about this “bribe” (the word used in the report) and about the possibility of having to match the extra funding due to Barnett elsewhere in the UK.
But the latest reports indicate that the Treasury has withdrawn its objections, believing that there were a number of ways in which cash could be injected into Northern Ireland (already the highest subsidised part of the United Kingdom) without relying on the Barnett formula.
It is not only the Nationalists who should be pressing Scotland’s case. Ruth Davidson promised that her team of Westminster MPs would look after Scotland’s interests and the support for Mrs May by the Scottish Tories is at least as important as that of the Democratic Unionists. So if this grubby transfer of extra funding to Northern Ireland is to go ahead, with the Treasury attempting to circumvent the terms of the Barnett formula on a technicality, let Ms Davidson demonstrate that she really does have Scotland’s interests at heart by demanding equivalent extra funding for this country. It is to be hoped the Welsh will also support this demand for fair dealing.
R Murray,
28 Maxwell Drive,
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel