Scottish independence and “their 9%”
5 December 2011 1 Comment
Sirs,
So, Alex Salmond and the SNP want 9% of all UK assets after devolution. No problem, as Scotland is 9% of the UK population.
I assume he’ll be taking only 9% of the UK’s oil, and his 9% share of the UK’s debt as well, then? The latter should be interesting since Scottish GDP is over £1,000 per-head lower than England’s, its per-head social, education and health costs are a lot higher than England’s and they would lose the quite ridiculous Barnett subsidy. I give them a couple of decades before they’re bust under those terms.
Also, since Scotland is over 9% of the UK’s land mass, he’ll need to decide which bits he’s leaving us. But fair’s fair, eh?
Scottish devolution? Can’t wait!
Paul Harper
Love it! Yes it’s an odd way to form a demand. Take the military assets he wants: if that means 9% go to Scotland, does that mean the UK handing over assets not currently based in Scotland?
As sound bites go, they could have come up with something more substantial than “give us 9% of all ya got!”