Taxes flowing North of the border

I have long been a supporter of self determination. That is to say, if a country wants its independence then it should be granted, or in cases like Gibraltar (for example) if they want to remain part of the UK or return to being part of Spain then it is the citizens there who should decide. No-one else. Ever since 1998 when devolution was granted to Scotland from Westminster, the West Lothian question was a raging debate just waiting to explode. It is only now with the recent elections in Scotland returning the SNP as the largest party in Holyrood and Alex Salmond as First Minister however, that the debate has really taken off.

Salmond has promised that under his leadership the Scottish people would get a referendum on Scottish independence. He even had the gall to say that if independence didn't work out, Scotland could always rejoin the union. Well, self-determination is a two player game - it seems he forgot that English might not want Scotland back. If the polls are to be believed, in fact, the hunger for Scottish independence is far greater south of the boarder than it is north. And I'm not surprised…

There are many examples of where England is getting the bum deal out of the union. The latest report is of English tax payers' money being used to give Scotland a far better education system for the young and more mature alike. For example, infants in Scotland could be taught in classes as low as 18 while thousands of young children south of the border remain in groups of 30. Scottish students are exempt from university tuition fees, whilst English students are racking third world country-esque debts. Blair Gibbs, campaign director of the Taxpayers' Alliance said: "-Sooner or later the Government is going to have to explain why it is OK for SNP ministers in Holyrood to make pledges on public spending with money raised from English taxpayers-." You can't really blame the SNP here though; they are simply taking advantage of an unbalanced system. It is time that the problem was tackled head on. I have no problem with tax being redistributed to the areas that need it most, but having a separate legislature deciding where taxes raised outside their jurisdiction go does not seem right. The deprived areas in the London Borough of Hackney don't get the special powers they get north of the border from Holyrood and that, in my opinion, is not fair.