SNP Promises Free University Education

IveSeenTheLight

Prudent wrote: »

I live in Scotland and recognise that it is grossly unfair that Scotland should have a host of free benefits that are not enjoyed by English residents. One of the most unfair aspects of the tution fees is that students from the European union can also study for free in Scotland whereas English students have to pay full fees.

A few months ago I was chatting to a student from Cyprus. By coincidence, my parents used to live in Cyprus just a street away from her house. She lived in a four bed villa with pool in an affluent area and both parents had very good jobs. She explained she was studying in Scotland because it was cheaper to fly home three or four times a year a than pay fees elsewhere and it meant she didn't need to get a summer job.

The SNP does not have a good track record of keeping its promises on education. It failed to keep them on class sizes and several other issues and now (quite untruthfully) was claiming it had devlivered in a party political broadcast last week. I am a teacher and know quite a few of my colleagues will be refusing to vote for them again after many failed promises to us.

There is a downside in that job opportunties are not great in some parts of Scotland just now. My daughter is just completing a college course and is very frustrated that all the agency vacancies are for the south of England.

Maybe you should look at the wider picture on what has been delivered sinc ethe SNP got into power.

Ilya_Ilyich

Loughton_Monkey wrote: »

Living for three years in Scotland does not make you "Scottish". I would ask you to define what definition of 'Scottish' will be used, and ask you to confirm that you believe he can make such stipulations on Nationality without getting into trouble with Race Relations, ECHR, European Court of Justice, and probably the Scottish constitution for all I know.

Well the Scottish Parliament has been around for a fair while now & there are many, many differences how laws, funding, programs, etc etc affect Scotland as opposed to England. Presumably then there's already some process in place that determines whether someone's subject to the Scottish government or not. It's not as if he has to create a new definition of 'Scottish' for this one policy (Scottish students are already exempt from fees so it's not even something new he's come up with, he's just extending what's already there).

RobStaffs

As a Scot I think the SNP are indulging in spectacular pre election vote gathering.At some point they will need to commit to what they are going to cut.They have a rather arrogant attitude to Uni funding issue.Taking for granted that non nationals will forever subsidise the locals.This cant last.

tomterm8

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

I'm a Scot and I would prefer independence

But that doesn't mean people like you are in the majority. The scottish government has had the power to call a referendum on the issue for the last decade. The last couple of years it has been run by people who believe in scottish independence.

They haven't given you a referendum on the issue.

It is obvious that the reason they haven't given you an opportunity to vote to leave the UK is that they don't think the scottish people collectively would vote for it.

Gas_Powered_Toothbrush

tomterm8 wrote: »

But that doesn't mean people like you are in the majority. The scottish government has had the power to call a referendum on the issue for the last decade. The last couple of years it has been run by people who believe in scottish independence.

They haven't given you a referendum on the issue.

The SNP are a minority government. Any attempt to introduce a referendum would be voted down by the rest of the parliament, who would then spin it to the electorate as a 'broken SNP promise'.

tomterm8

Gas_Powered_Toothbrush wrote: »

The SNP are a minority government. Any attempt to introduce a referendum would be voted down by the rest of the parliament, who would then spin it to the electorate as a 'broken SNP promise'.

Yes. Now tell me, the scottish parliament is a proportionally elected assembly is it not? So the majority of scottish people have voted for parties that don't agree with independence for the last decade.

How does that conflict with what I am saying?

Orpheo

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 Welsh and the Scottish people have fire in their bellies, they stand up for themselves. The English drop their trousers, bend over and pathetically shake their heads at the question, "lube?"

macaque_2

Red_Doe wrote: »

There`s a very very simple solution for those English who dislike the way the Scots government runs things in Scotland. Give us Independance.

This certainly has my vote. I used to be strongly in favour of the Union but it clearly does not work any more. Too many Scots have developed an irrational resentment of the English. They are also a burden on the UK tax payer despite the large number of public sector jobs that have been relocated to Scotland. I am bored with the pettiness (Ecosse car badges, always supporting the other side in international sporting events, provocative legislation etc) and sniping against the English. When I visit Scotland, I am shocked at the way some talk about (and to) the English.

If you want independence, as far as I am concerned, you can have it with my blessings. Who knows, you may even learn to stand on your own feet.

Optimist

macaque wrote: »

This certainly has my vote. I used to be strongly in favour of the Union but it clearly does not work any more. Too many Scots have developed an irrational resentment of the English. They are also a burden on the UK tax payer despite the large number of public sector jobs that have been relocated to Scotland. I am bored with the pettiness (Ecosse car badges, always supporting the other side in international sporting events, provocative legislation etc) and sniping against the English. When I visit Scotland, I am shocked at the way some talk about (and to) the English.

If you want independence, as far as I am concerned, you can have it with my blessings. Who knows, you may even learn to stand on your own feet.

Amusingly if Scotland did become a independent nation it would soon become full of English students getting free university education as the current rules would no longer stand.

Gas_Powered_Toothbrush

tomterm8 wrote: »

Yes. Now tell me, the scottish parliament is a proportionally elected assembly is it not? So the majority of scottish people have voted for parties that don't agree with independence for the last decade.

How does that conflict with what I am saying?

You're absolutely right. I, and everyone else in Scotland, cast our votes based on the parties views on only one issue.