SNP Promises Free University Education

treliac

Alex Salmond promises to keep university education free for Scottish students, during his speech at the SNP conference. Mr Salmond is also committed to a policy of no compulsory redundancies across the public sector.

Scotland already provides free personal care to the elderly and disabled.

How is Scotland able to afford this support to its people and to guarantee a level of provision and security that is not available to people in England?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-12711509

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/Salmond-Ill-save-public-sector.6732910.jp

JoeCrystal

Hmm... by cutting other areas of the budget maybe?

Cheers

Joe

treliac

JoeCrystal wrote: »

Hmm... by cutting other areas of the budget maybe?

Cheers

Joe

Thanks Joe. Any chance you could be a bit more specific?

vivatifosi

I don't understand why we - the English - don't get more annoyed about this. Whether it is free or reduced price university fees, prescription charges or parking at hospitals it always strikes me as fundamentally unfair that one part of the country gets these things and others don't. It isn't as though we have EMPs to vote it through. I don't have a problem with the Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish being entitled to something, just other parts of the country not getting the same. More than 30 years on, the West Lothian Question remains unanswered and those of us living in the Eastern Region continue to benefit less from the Barnett formula than the rest of the UK, including London and the South East.

Red_Doe

The SNP also promised Independance. I`m still waiting for that one.

lucylucky

vivatifosi wrote: »

I don't understand why we - the English - don't get more annoyed about this. Whether it is free or reduced price university fees, prescription charges or parking at hospitals it always strikes me as fundamentally unfair that one part of the country gets these things and others don't. It isn't as though we have EMPs to vote it through. I don't have a problem with the Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish being entitled to something, just other parts of the country not getting the same. More than 30 years on, the West Lothian Question remains unanswered and those of us living in the Eastern Region continue to benefit less from the Barnett formula than the rest of the UK, including London and the South East.

Different country though;)

Wee Eck is only on the lookout for re-election at the moment anyway.

lucylucky

Red_Doe wrote: »

The SNP also promised Independance. I`m still waiting for that one.

For a long time one can but hope......

Red_Doe

lucylucky wrote: »

For a long time one can but hope......

Depends which side of the Border (physically or not) you`re on, I guess.

blueboy43

vivatifosi wrote: »

I don't understand why we - the English - don't get more annoyed about this. Whether it is free or reduced price university fees, prescription charges or parking at hospitals it always strikes me as fundamentally unfair that one part of the country gets these things and others don't. It isn't as though we have EMPs to vote it through. I don't have a problem with the Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish being entitled to something, just other parts of the country not getting the same. More than 30 years on, the West Lothian Question remains unanswered and those of us living in the Eastern Region continue to benefit less from the Barnett formula than the rest of the UK, including London and the South East.

The Barnett formula has nothing to do with differences in English regional spending. But you are right in asking why people don't get angry.

One consequence of the Barnett formula is that when tuition fees where introduced in England, the top up variable element was counted as extra public spending therefore Scotland get apportioned additional spending !

The SNP actually argued that they should get extra money as a result of the Olympics.

Scotland gets roughly 20% more per head to spend than England, and while some of this is justified (poverty, health, rural etc, etc), the fees issue is just taking the pee.

Wookster

vivatifosi wrote: »

I don't understand why we - the English - don't get more annoyed about this. Whether it is free or reduced price university fees, prescription charges or parking at hospitals it always strikes me as fundamentally unfair that one part of the country gets these things and others don't. It isn't as though we have EMPs to vote it through. I don't have a problem with the Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish being entitled to something, just other parts of the country not getting the same. More than 30 years on, the West Lothian Question remains unanswered and those of us living in the Eastern Region continue to benefit less from the Barnett formula than the rest of the UK, including London and the South East.

And we bailed out two Scottish banks as well.

vivatifosi

blueboy43 wrote: »

The Barnett formula has nothing to do with differences in English regional spending. But you are right in asking why people don't get angry.

Can you explain then blueboy43 (genuine question rather than challenge) why people in Eastern England receive £6,144 funding in 2007 compared to the wealthier S East's £6,304 or N East's £8,177 or London's £8,404? I know the figures are much more for Wales, NI and Scotland, but don't understand the regional variances. If they are on the basis of deprivation, the S E scores better on most indices than the Eastern Region. Figures are from Wikipedia, quoting Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) 2007, chapter 9, table 9.2.