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Economist

Scotland subsidises the rest of Britain - Ken Livingstone

Continuing the series of Labour politicians saying one thing then contradicting themselves a little while later, here we have Red Ken's latest contribution to Scotland's fiscal debate, which will no doubt have his Scottish Labour contemporaries going apoplectic with rage, in the run up to the election campaign:

http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=8636
Quote:

SP You mentioned earlier London as the goose that lays the golden egg for the rest of Britain. There’s a lot of debate about this, particularly with Scottish nationalism on the rise again. How much of London’s money should it keep; should it be keeping more?

KL It should keep a bit more for investment and for redistribution of wealth, or the mayor should be given a mechanism for redistribution of wealth. We need a better mechanism for the redistribution of wealth between rich and poor Londoners, and we need more transport—Crossrail One, the upgrade of the overland trains, and then move on to Crossrail Two, a 20-year programme. Having read all the stuff the SNP is putting out, it’s most probably true that Scotland subsidises the rest of Britain if you take into account a classic international law interpretation of who the oil belongs to. It’s northern England that is the major beneficiary of our subsidy, and Northern Ireland as well.


Compare with:

http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=435&id=837422006

which met with righteous indignation from the SNP:

http://www.snp.org/press-releases...ess_release.2006-06-07.7322008422

Will they be thanking him this time? Or will Ken change his tune once again (probably!)
kevin04

Is big Ken not an avid-scotland football fan aswell? I think his parents are both from Scotland and he sees himself as a Scot, maybe am wrong but sure I read a newspaper magazine column with him saying something along these lines.. could be wrong though
Economist

That sounds a bit like Rod Stewart Laughing Laughing

I don't know maybe he is, I don't know his background so can't comment. It is just that he normally likes to perpetuate the myth of London subsidising Scotland - as he has done before.

Whether he believes it or not, is another matter, but if it gets out, I'm sure Scottish Labour will just be so thrilled by his intervention. Laughing
Niall

OK Ken.

Now you answer this:
http://www.scottishpolitics.org/scotching/greatdeception.html

'S Mise
Niall.
Economist

The Herald have now picked up on this:

http://www.theherald.co.uk/politi...nster/display.var.1292820.0.0.php
Grachka

Quote:
Labour's Andy Kerr said: "There is a choice between building Scotland with Labour and breaking up Britain with the SNP."

You'd think they'd get bored with that line...it's like a dripping tap.

This campaign has been the absolute worst ever for the parties just repeating the same old lines in response to anything.

Labour: "This is a choice between building up Scotland///educating children with Labour and breaking up Britain///higher taxes with the SNP"

Lib Dems: "It's clear that only the Liberal Democrats are picking up support across the political spectrum, especially amongst the young"

SNP: "This is an example of Labour's negative scaremongering that just isn't working in the face of SNP's positive campaign///something about London remote control"

Tories: "..."

Worst quality election campaign ever, in store.
Aventinian

Grachka wrote:
Quote:
Labour's Andy Kerr said: "There is a choice between building Scotland with Labour and breaking up Britain with the SNP."

You'd think they'd get bored with that line...it's like a dripping tap.


And I thought the SNP's latest wee slogan "It's Time" was as annoying as it could get. Oh well, it'll soon join the great bin of political history alongside "Scotland Free by '93" and "Independence Heaven in '97".

Quote:
This campaign has been the absolute worst ever for the parties just repeating the same old lines in response to anything.


That's what you get when you have two parties that are almost completely identical, with only the tribe they seek to represent separating them.
Economist

Election slogans are part of the election season, that is to be expected as the parties try to market themselves, and they all do eventually end in the dustbin, after the election, whatever the result. Everything from the Tories extremely vacuous "Are you thinking what we're thinking", to Labour in 1997 with their rendition of "Things can only get better".

What is more annoying is the incoherent dribble that is being put around by the Unionists, and they are (at the moment) suffering as a result.
Aventinian

Economist wrote:
Election slogans are part of the election season, that is to be expected as the parties try to market themselves, and they all do eventually end in the dustbin, after the election, whatever the result. Everything from the Tories extremely vacuous "Are you thinking what we're thinking", to Labour in 1997 with their rendition of "Things can only get better".


Hmm... Labour has kept its New Labour, New Britain/Scotland etc as their main slogan for years.
George

Aventinian wrote:
Economist wrote:
Election slogans are part of the election season, that is to be expected as the parties try to market themselves, and they all do eventually end in the dustbin, after the election, whatever the result. Everything from the Tories extremely vacuous "Are you thinking what we're thinking", to Labour in 1997 with their rendition of "Things can only get better".


Hmm... Labour has kept its New Labour, New Britain/Scotland etc as their main slogan for years.


Surely it's New Labour...........New Scotland...Yard.
Economist

Aventinian wrote:
Hmm... Labour has kept its New Labour, New Britain/Scotland etc as their main slogan for years.


Alongside Britain forward not back, or Scotland forward not back you mean? And all the other spin and trite phrases they churn out when their arse is on the line?
fiferjohn

labour's new campaign slogan should be stay in the union and we will put even more scots into poverty and waste your resoures on london.
Aventinian

fiferjohn wrote:
labour's new campaign slogan should be stay in the union and we will put even more scots into poverty and waste your resoures on london.


Ah yes, well founded in fact.

After all, there are massive numbers of people in real poverty in Scotland. Oh, don't let their obesity and sky television subscriptions fool you - they're worse than the Africans!

And yes, I'm sure the UK "wastes" on London - regardless of the fact that it is probably the world's commercial centre and doubtless brings billions back into the UK treasury.
ditchblair

He's an amazing man Ken Livingstone.
He's the only person I know that can speak through his nostrils and his arsehole at the same time.

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