The INDEPENDENT BUDGET REVIEW was set up by the Scottish Government to consider options for future public expenditure. Let's look at some of the main points:
- A cut in jobs by up to 60,000 by 2014
- A 2 year pay freeze and a review of pension arrangements
- No overriding presumption of protection for any services
- Council tax freeze discontinued
- All free and subsidised services in the Health Service including NHS eye examinations, personal and nursing care, reduction in prescription charges and concessionary travel should be curtailed.
- Scottish Water should be privatised
- Higher education should no longer be free
Now all these might sound like severe but necessary recommendations to pay for LABOUR'S FINANCIAL MESS, with the economy in it's worst state since the 2nd World War. But consider this. Scotland actually produces more oil than QATAR. Scotland should be a rich country. We have just discovered a new oil field, the CATCHER, which has reserves of 360 million barrels about 10 times the normal size of any Field discovered so far. That is without the oil reserves in the Clyde and off the west coast which so far lay untapped.
But what do the SNP Government do. They play into the Unionists' hands by pissing about with DEVOLUTION and whether we want a CALMAN or CALMAN PLUS, which anyone with any sense can see is a UNIONIST trap which will have Scotland keeping the UK economy afloat again, just as it has done since the 70s. Meanwhile the people of Scotland will keep on voting Labour, falling further into the mire of poverty. The Unionists are very happy to laugh at Alex Salmond's somewhat rash comments about the ARC OF PROSPERITY, before Labour's recession, but one of the countries in the Arc, was NORWAY, a country more akin to Scotland due to their oil wealth. There's no recession in Norway. Their old people don't freeze to death in the winter like they do here, despite it being colder and of course they had control of their own banks which weren't allowed to make risky investment decisions in foreign countries.
The SNP should be shouting the INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE from the rooftops, instead of adopting this gradual process to full fiscal powers. Many Independence supporters are getting fed up with this approach and instead of seizing the moment, if they are not very careful, it could lead to schisms amongst the Independence movement, when this should be the moment to press ahead to FULL INDEPENDENCE or at least FULL FISCAL CONTROL, with a shared agreement with England over things like defence. A country with Scotland's wealth should be investing in it's infrastructure and people, not MAKING CUTS!
Professors Andrew Hughes Hallett and Drew Scott have warned that Calman changes will have a "more severe" effect in Scotland than in other parts of the UK, and that recommendations from the commission could result in a 25% cut in spending, lost income tax revenue and an inability to use higher VAT to compensate.
"The emergency Budget shows why Calman couldn’t work, with the GERS figures showing a Scottish surplus of £1.3 billion compared to a UK-wide deficit of £48.9 billion completes the case for Scotland to be responsible for our own resources.
Scotland should not fall into this UNIONIST TRAP. They want to allow us to vary tax by 10p, while they hammer down our block grant from WESTMINSTER to compensate. This is POCKET MONEY. If Westminster and the Unionist parties want to give SCOTLAND tax powers, allow us to raise and spend all our taxes with full FISCAL INDEPENDENCE. We'll pay you for our defence etc and the UNION will be strengthened not weakened. NOT!
DICK GREGG the leader of the LIBTHINGIES and a leading member of the Coalition Government, wants to hold his referendum on May 5, which is the same day as the Scottish Holyrood Election.
Labour and the SNP have united in opposition to the date in case it detracts from the Scottish Election. But I say however, BRING IT ON! If we're going to have a referendum let's extend it to have a vote on the CALMAN recommendations, CALMAN PLUS giving fiscal responsibility to Holyrood and while we're at it let's have a vote on FULL SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE. Four questions to answer. Surely 60 years of Labour haven't made us that FUCKING STUPID that we can't vote on a few questions while we vote for the SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT!
