KEN LIVINGSTONE'S REMARKS REFLECT THE INJUSTICE OF LONDON RULE

London 'subsidising Scots lifestyle', says Livingstone
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=837422006#new

KEN Livingstone, the London mayor, has come under fire for suggesting that Londoners' money keeps Scots in a lifestyle "to which they are accustomed". The outspoken Labour mayor made the remark at a reception on Monday night as he tried to explain why the city needed a new £10 billion rail link.

He told politicians: "We need Crossrail to keep London's economy ticking over so that we can continue to pay for the Scottish to live the lifestyle to which they are accustomed."

His political opponents said the comments were insulting.

The mayor's remarks also infuriated Alex Salmond, the Scottish National Party leader, who yesterday introduced a bill calling for the repatriation of North Sea oil reserves to Scotland.
Mr Salmond said: "When you include all Scotland's resources, we subsidise the rest of the UK by £3,000 a year for the average Scottish family."

This "£200 billion raid" on Scottish resources over 30 years was "the greatest act of international larceny since the Spanish stole the Inca gold", he said.

Mr Salmond also taunted Gordon Brown's support for England in the World Cup, accusing the Chancellor of "morphing into an Englishman". He accused Mr Brown of spending "long hours" at the Treasury trying to memorise the names of the England squad.

Mr Salmond's bill stands little chance of becoming law due to a lack of parliamentary time.

A spokesman for Mr Livingstone told The Scotsman the mayor had made a light-hearted joke. "But behind it lies a serious point. If London is to be able to continue to transfer resources to the rest of the country, which it accepts it should do, it has to be able to invest."

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As Salmond points out, Ken's figures are wrong, however they are typical of a mindset amongst English politicians who have lied for so long about the finances of Scotland that they now believe it!

Figures are notoriously fickle beasts depending on who is quoting them however there can be no doubt that Scotland has substantially subsidised England through Oil. A road in Scotland which costs £1M and benefits 5,000 people. The same road is built in England for the same price but this benefits £50,000 people. Does that mean the Scots are 10 times better off?
No, it's just a road. Scotland has a small population spread over a large area and has enormous natural resources.

Ken Livingstone and probably most Londeners have no real interest in working out who owes who but there's a lot more money goes into London through Government investment than ever reaches Scotland and in a much much smaller area.

The answer to the problem of this misunderstanding of course is Scottish independence and let England spend whatever they like on London. As long as Scotland is ruled by England and by politicians based in London our interests will never be properly addressed.

The Scottish Independence Guide http://www.scottishindependence.com

The above website gives more information about independence ie normal national powers for Scotland. Who really believes Scotland is incapable if running our own affairs? Apart from power hungry politicians with an eye on England like Brown or those with limited ambitions for Scotland like Jack McConnell, most would agree it makes logical sense and according to recent polls would vote that way if they had the chance in a referendum.