Scottish independence: Ruth Davidson points to welfare
AN INDEPENDENT Scotland would be unable to finance the country’s welfare and pensions bill, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has claimed.
The Tories claimed Scotland Office figures showed almost £100 billion has been spent on benefits and pensions since records began in 2002, while the total revenue from oil and gas was £59.7bn.
Ms Davidson called on the First Minister to spell out how the government of an independent Scotland would pay for welfare spending and ensure “help is available to the poorest in society”.
She said: “Scotland is stronger and wealthier for being part of the United Kingdom and benefits from being part of one of the most successful economic unions in the world.
“Evidence of this, is the amount of welfare and pension spending in Scotland over the past ten years, which has far exceeded oil and gas revenues alone.
“Alex Salmond must really come clean on the costs of separation.”
A spokesman for the First Minister challenged the Scotland Office figures and attacked the coalition government at Westminster over its package of benefit cuts.
The spokesman said: “Ruth Davidson’s government at Westminster is hurting vulnerable people, including removing Disability Living Allowance. Welfare and pensions spending will be more affordable with independence, and Scotland will be better off.”
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Comments
There are 52 comments to this article
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Mark Bishop
Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 11:11 PMcutommy, I will welcome you to the the 21st century. I had an altercation with a lady in George Street in 2000 who took exception to my friend wearing a blanket bought in Kenya. OCH she said nice to see u wearing the tartan. Very nice and thank you friend my guest said *a lady*. YOU ENGLISH yelled the first lady *Last time I looked* said my friend. *NOOOOO right to be wearing the tartan* screamed the local lady (I cringed at this point). My dear and educated friend said *what year is it?* the idiot, happy to join in to the New Year Festivities replied *och year two THOUSAND* My very dear friend replied, mildly, *don't you think you ought to start living in it?* She also went on to enlighten this idiot that they really ought to take on the entire Kenyan Masaai population for being non scottish yet wearing the traditional tartan shuka. I really DO DESPAIR.
Mark Bishop
Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 08:45 PM47 I may have made my point not quite clear. I was trying to create an image of a relationship which is breaking down (which it is) and the wife is metaphorically squirreling money away to tide her over when the spilt happens. As in, less water (preparing for droughts) perhaps less oil (conserving power in the household). Perhaps squirreling money was the wrong analogy. I should have said *buffering against hard times and divorce*. Maybe there were billions before the bank collapse, but there certainly aren't now. I am deeply sad about all this, I don't know if people will like us much around the World if we get independence. Much fence mending will have to be done if we stay together as well. This is not doing anyone any good at all.
Mark Bishop
Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 08:35 PMThe point being, that before Good old Maggie Thatcher, no one down south was aware of the antagonism that Scots had towards English. They didn't really cotton on when Holyrood was built. They were under the impression that as the Education, NHS, Laws, Barnett Formula, BBC Scotland, Scotrail and all the other Oop North institutions were ticking along quite nicely. Then along comes second cry for a referendum and by golly they all know about it now. They are surprisingly hurt that people who they regarded as friends and neighbours dislike them so much that they want to leave. What my friends are saying, is *oh well, if that's what you want, off you go then* and are cancelling holidays up here. To them, it's no point going where you are not welcome. However, the World is watching us and also getting to know exactly how much the Scots dislike the English, so THEY are all thinking twice about coming for their holidays. They are looking at the worse case scenarios, reading more about stabbings and killing (not that it doesn't happen down south, it does) reading more about Mr Trump and the Tram and how we are managing those situations and failing miserably. Add in the poor health record, usual diet, smoking everywhere (hardly anyone smokes down south now, they are all much more health conscious, it was particularly noticeable on my last few visits), not being able to understand what people are saying and our notoriously awful weather and they are cancelling or thinking twice about coming to see us. Oh yes, they all know NOW.
makemineayesplease
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 10:10 PMI find it frankly laughable that unionists are still saying there is no economic arguement for an Independent Scotland! The British Prime Minister even conceded in an interview with BBC 'Scotland' that Scotland as an independent entity is viable! I must look out the quote! Again, scaremongering and no substance of a debate from Davidson. The clock is ticking unionists.
Lies and stats
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 11:27 PMStill two and a half years of this unionist drivel to go.
flyinngscott
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 10:25 PM#46, "squirreling money away" ? In which fantasy land, te one with a defecit large enough to make a Greek weep.You make a mostly coherent arguement Mark, and living in the present is the best of what you say. The old arguement of highest spending per person, is laughable when compared with the squillions hoovered up by the SE & London, with the infrastructure spending spree the most apparent. An Airport in the Thames estuary FFS ! As always, why the establishment kerfuffle to retain the union ?, when we sweaty socks are nothing but a drain on mother England. ==================================================== #32. Sam. Making things up again ? Did the 'voices' tell you that ? At least you wont have far to flee, come the disaster that freedom will herald.
Mark Bishop
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 10:01 PM@28 You have no idea. The English are incredibly resourceful. They had an Empire and learned how to conserve water. My mates down south are already collecting rainwater in underground tanks because they have thought this thing through. They are already using *Navy showers*, in that you turn on and get wet, turn off and soap up, turn on and rinse. They already only heat a cup full of water for a cup of tea. They already use the boiled potato water to transfer into the carrot and pea pans to heat them. They wear clothes a few days running. They save water from baths and showers to water the vegetable patch,They KNOW how to conserve. Don't worry about THEM.
Mark Bishop
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 09:45 PMcutommy......... You need to bring yourself into the 21st century. If you live in the past you are doing yourself a disservice. Medieval thinking. We have iPads, mobile phones, Facebook. An Awful LOT of people don't give a flying squirrel about what happened in the past, they want to be modern, I suggest you join them.
Mark Bishop
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 09:37 PM34 cutommy The Treaty of Union was signed on 22nd July 1706 when Scotland and England were both Independent Sovereign Nations. At that time, Scotland was economically disadvantaged and under threat of invasion by English troops. England took advantage of Scotland's weakness to control and emasculate the Scots. To label Scottish independence as a break up of the United Kingdom is disingenuous. Independence would provide an opportunity to renegotiate the ‘Union’ on more equitable terms. What presently masquerades as a ‘Union’, is domination at Westminster; where Scottish constituency MPs are outvoted 533:59 by English MPs. No measure of devolution, Devo-max or otherwise, would end this English domination. If the Scots vote for anything less than full independence, it will be time to stop pretending to be a ‘Nation’ and be reconciled to being a small region in the nation called The United Kingdom................................................................You really don't understand cutommy. No one is dominating anyone. Scotland has its own parliament, its own NHS, its own legal system, its own educational system. It gets more money per PERSON than England from the block Barnett Formula. No one is telling anyone what to do apart from Your Local Council about bins and dog poop and parking and Edin Council about paying for the trams. Get a grip please.
Mark Bishop
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 09:26 PM@10. Interesting article in the Times 2 Monday feb 20th. 60% of barley grown in England is sent to Scottie to make the whisky, but now the English are making their own and faster due to higher temperatures down South. Look up Hicks and Healy 7 year old Cornish whisky, Norfolk has the English Whisky Company. Sweet mellow like a Speyside single malt like Glenfiddich. Devon and Black Country have their own tartan at the Coldharbour Mill in Devon. Browns the Butchers of Chorley Lancs won the National Haggis Competition in Perth. I do believe we have a bit of competition, lads. We really need to get our act together if we are going to make it, come independence. Just to add salt to the wounds, due to less taxation, in France you can buy a bottle of Laphroaigh for £19, not the £23 we have here..............England is preparing to do without Scotland in the same way that a wife who has found out that her husband is having an affair is squirreling money away. You want independence? Be prepared to sleep on a single matrress and live off tins of beans, unheated, of course.
flyinngscott
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 08:28 PM#41 noodle, the arguement you used was that 21 yr olds should set education policy. I reduced it futher, by saying babies should set neonatal provision. Noodle, the army line is well and fine, but really, for a referendum, shouldn't 16 yr old taxpayers be given a shout. ======================================== The young, like anyone else, are free to vote for more of the same old same old from giants like stuttering la-mont and davidson, and those fantastic, uncorrupt parties at London HQ. The ones who brought us illegal wars, troughing on an industrial scale, tuition fee's, politicians in murdochs back pocket, massive infrastructure projects for the SE & London, ect ect .. Or they could vote for hope, and change from the status quo. Some choice, and thats why the establishment is so afraid they let moore out of his box.
noodle doodle
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 07:53 PM#39 the thread where you said: "Our 63 yr old, or 31 yr old, has less to lose, the old tending to shun change, in exchange for the status quo, through fear, "? Your logic seems to be "If they'll vote SNP, it's ok by me!"... I mean you don't even attempt to hide it with some mis-shaped argument as in "they can fight in the army etc". you'll be wanting argentinians to vote in your lost referendum next because you think they'd vote to break up the uk too
noodle doodle
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 07:47 PM#35 ""North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid oil and natural gas," - and that is indeed proof why you shouldn't quote from wikipedia, because it's complete nonsense. Oil is oil. It isn't gas as well. Gas is gas. If they were the same, oil rigs wouldn't flare off the gas. That isn't politics, that's basic chemistry.
flyinngscott
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 06:51 PMHi noodle, you never replied to my comment, re - your pretzel logic on taxation without representation for 16 yr olds. Shall I assume you switch off when stumped ?
flyinngscott
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 06:48 PMAnother day, another scaremongering lie for the headline writers to try their massive intellects.
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