I READ so many articles about independence for Scotland and so many saying we get so much more from England than we are entitled to. This is rubbish.
The facts are that for generations the UK has been so London-dominated that it is not just Scotland that has suffered but most of the regions of England and the countries outside England have, too.
Take the civil service: 68 per cent of the top grades of civil servants are based in London. Five per cent are based in Scotland. Most of the senior members of the armed forces are based in London. Furthermore, a high proportion of the rest of the armed forces are based in the south of England.
It makes the award of contracts for services to the government more likely to be awarded to companies in the south-east. These factors make it very difficult to compare how much Scotland puts in to the UK economy compared to what it takes out.
Look at recent capital expenditure. The Crossrail project cost about £19 billion. The bulk of the spend on the high-speed project has been spent in Greater London.
Scotland has always lost many of its smartest people because the opportunities are in London. Many people working in London would not move to Scotland, or elsewhere in England, because they know it would diminish their chances of promotion.
The pay rates in London are higher. Many people working in the capital have some form of London weighting. It varies considerably but about 10 per cent for the same job, is my overall estimate. Then, of course, so many of the highest-paid jobs in both the public and private sector are found in London.
If Scotland was self-governing this would change. In many ways a form of federalism would be the best but for it to work it would need to have England broken into regions. Can you imagine? Why do the English not want to let Scotland go? Is it still thoughts of Empire? Someone should tell us.
At this time of remembering the Few from the Battle of Britain, we should recall that they were defending London. We had no fighters up when Clydebank was bombed.
Jim McAdam, Maidens, Ayrshire.
I NOTED with interest that Malta this week celebrated its Independence Day, marking 56 years of independence from the UK. With a population less than that of Edinburgh, Malta has forged its own path since 1964, becoming a republic in 1974 and joining the EU in 2004.
This reminded me of an editorial spotted in The Times from 1959, which noted: “Malta cannot live on its own ... the island could pay for only one-fifth of her food and essential imports; well over one-quarter of the present labour force would be out of work, and the economy would collapse without British Treasury subventions. Talk of full independence for Malta is therefore hopelessly impractical.”
This struck me as sounding rather familiar.
Alex Orr, Edinburgh.
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