Should Berwick be in Scotland? It's a topic that's being manufactured by parts of the media at the moment. At the end of the day its not very likely to happen but of course it should be the choice of the people of Berwick (and Scotland).
I assume the question relates to Berwick town (whose history is part-Scottish, whose football team plays in the Scottish league and whose railway station is already assumed by National Express to be in Scotland for some of its fares) as opposed to Berwick District Council (whose lands were invaded by various border reivers in the past, but which otherwise I think has little connection).
Economically Berwick town looks to Edinburgh at least as much as to the South given the rail link, the dualling of the A1 north of the border and the success of Edinburgh. But the main reason people might want to become part of Scotland is the extra level of benefits (for example, care costs and tuition fees) they would get. People further south may want some of that as well. The trouble is that England is paying for those extra benefits so there's a limit to how much of England Scotland can swallow. Berwick is probably OK, much more probably not.
(I know it's claimed to be Scotland's Oil, I know the SNP would like more tax raising powers, but the main reason for the extra benefits is the formula for funding Scotland which benefits it more than the North East and other poorer regions of England.)
I assume the question relates to Berwick town (whose history is part-Scottish, whose football team plays in the Scottish league and whose railway station is already assumed by National Express to be in Scotland for some of its fares) as opposed to Berwick District Council (whose lands were invaded by various border reivers in the past, but which otherwise I think has little connection).
Economically Berwick town looks to Edinburgh at least as much as to the South given the rail link, the dualling of the A1 north of the border and the success of Edinburgh. But the main reason people might want to become part of Scotland is the extra level of benefits (for example, care costs and tuition fees) they would get. People further south may want some of that as well. The trouble is that England is paying for those extra benefits so there's a limit to how much of England Scotland can swallow. Berwick is probably OK, much more probably not.
(I know it's claimed to be Scotland's Oil, I know the SNP would like more tax raising powers, but the main reason for the extra benefits is the formula for funding Scotland which benefits it more than the North East and other poorer regions of England.)
And this highlights a real problem with decentralisation. If you give more powers to county and parish councils (as you should), they will choose to spend money in different ways. People will therefore have different levels of service in adjacent areas. So you have to make sure the funding arrangements are fair otherwise the decentralisation cannot last.
I am sure that over time either the differences in services between Scotland and the North East will reduce or taxes in Scotland will rise. I'm therefore very happy to stay in England.
2 comments:
It is difficult to see how the Barnett formula is fair to the UK as a whole and therefore how the current position can be sustained. Independence is next for Scotland probably as a result of English agitation followed by new financial arrangements and a real need to look properly at how the country works. I think that might be exposing.
Having lived with my father-in-law whose ancestors were Scottish eventhough he lived in Northumberland all his life, he always wanted to see Berwick become a part of Scotland. Being from the North West myself, I just listened to his reasoning but unfortunately it had nothing to do with benefits!
I hope you don't mind that I have blogrolled you.
Best wishes, Crystal Jigsaw
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