It’s too late, Mr Brown. The chicken has flown the coop, the genie is out of the bottle. You saw to that on the day you said devolve and it is too late to put back the stopper. Unless, that is, you once again make sure that privileges, taxes, rules and legislative procedures are the same from Lands’ End to John o’Groats.
Catrin Pascoe
(hattip Wildgoose).
4 comments:
"you once again make sure that privileges, taxes, rules and legislative procedures are the same from Lands’ End to John o’Groats."
Never has been in the UK even before devolution. Why is this person not complaining about the differences in the water provision within the UK. Not to mention the different system of local government taxation in NI.
The only thing that quote reveals is an unbeleivable ignorance of how the UK functioned pre 1997.
I am sure that arch-unionist Donald Findlay QC is looking forward to the day when Scots law is abolished and he is put out of a job by his fellow unionists--------------
Maybe he can audition his singing skills in "Britain's got talent"
You're quite right - although not with respect to England and Wales which were ruled identically, (a Secretary of State for Wales being a fairly late addition). So from a Welsh perspective this is exactly how it looks.
I also remember reading how amazed British squaddies were upon being sent to Northern Ireland when they learned that young adults didn't have the vote - just their rate-paying parents. And that's the difference. People didn't know. They assumed we were all equal citizens with equal rights in one big family.
Only now the English have learned that we aren't equal, that it is the English who are second class citizens, and that there are significant antipathies towards England and the English in the other Home Nations.
Feel free to criticise the wilful blindness that preceded that realisation. But not the inevitable reaction as the truth dawns.
I'll make two not especially original observations here.
First, it's not the truth which is important but what people believe to be the truth. Second, politics now is 80% PR/Propaganda/Image, 20%policies and beliefs.
Apart from the legal system in Scotland, I think Aberdonian exaggerates how different the various parts of the UK operated pre 97. But let's assume, he's right- why now the uproar about the "preferential" treatment delivered under devolution. Apart from the obvious constitutional differences and the NHS, I don't think there are that great differences. But the SNP are operating avery slick PR campaign that's focusing not on SCotland but England and the English are believing what they're telling them.
Actually the education system for a start even before devolution (indeed I had left full time education before devolution came into force).
In Scotland it is 7 years primary and 4-6 years secondary (England-Wales it 6 years primary, 5-7 years seconday and NI 7 years primary and 5-7 years secondary).
Different exams and curriculum.
At universities a Scottish honours degree takes four years (the exception is medicine where I believe that it is uniform throughout the UK). Also in the "ancients" there is the office of Rector who represents the students.
As mentioned before, the NHS in Scotland was separate before devolution and escaped some of the market reforms south of the border.
Of course as mentioned before water provision was and remains different . England has private monopolies while Scotland has a state water company. When the Tories took water out of local government hands when it abolished the regional councils in the 1990's, it set up three regional state water companies which Labour merged into one when they took power I think before the Scotland Act was enforced.
Of course another interesting difference between Scotland and the rest of the UK was until recently feudal tenure. Until the 1970's in Scotland, landowners (such as householders) had to pay an annual sum to their "feudal superior", the family/organisation which was the feudal lord in ancient times.
This private tax was called the "feu duty". A number of organisations such as the kirk and various incorporated trades organisatons raked this money in. In the 1970's Heath's government phased it out. This was done by someone paying a lump sum to the feudal superior to end the tax. It normally took place when someone bought a new property but by the end of the seventies all property owners had to settle with their superiors.
The story does not end there though. Feudal superiors kept an interest in the land until these rights were recently abolished. If you wanted to do something to your property which needed council permission, you also needed to get permission from your "superior".
So O'Neill before devolution buys a house. Then he decides to build an extension. Council give the go ahead but tell him to inform the feudal superior for it to be legal. O'Neill tells superior about his grand plan. Superior says they will grant permission - but you have to pay for it - lets say £500! Drop in ocean. O'Neill says he owns his property. Feudal superior says it owns O'Neill's ass and legally he is just a serf and O'Neill is forced to pay up.
Feudal superiors could also be moral pains in the backside. Places where the Kirk was a superior were subject to "ethical policy" so if you wanted to set up a strip joint on where the kirk had an interest it was vetoed.
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