Peter Jackson column

Mar 22 2007 By Peter Jackson, The Journal

Some quarter of a million jobs have been created in Scotland since 1997, boasts Tony Blair in an article published last week.

In the piece, in a national newspaper, he goes on describing the Scots' happy situation, to demonstrate why they would be foolish to vote for the Scottish Nationalist Party, SNP.

He tells us Scotland's unemployment is below the national average, that the employment rate, at a record high, is one of the best in Europe, that Scotland's population is increasing and that the country boasts superb universities.

Not only that, he says, but Scotland has enjoyed sustained economic growth every year since 1997, its standard of living is the highest in the UK outside the South and East of England, and a fifth of all the jobs created by inward investors are in Scotland.

If Tony Blair had written all this in a Scottish newspaper it would hardly be worthy of comment outside Scotland.

The fact, however, he chose to trumpet Scotland's success in a London based paper is significant. It tells us that, with retirement looming, he is in a demob happy state and has either grown incautious, or that he simply does not give a damn any more.

Because any English person reading his article, especially someone from the North-East - where we have not fared nearly so well as our near neighbours north of the Border - would be justified in asking Mr Blair pointed questions.

Why is it if Scotland is now so prosperous compared to the rest of the UK, does it continue to benefit from the Barnett Formula, whereby public expenditure is automatically adjusted in favour of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland?

In the financial year 2004/2005, if you lived in Coldstream in Scotland, you would benefit from £8,096 of public spending - £1,473 more than if you lived over the border in Berwick in England. Taking the 2000/01 figures, if the level of expenditure in Scotland had been matched in the North-East, the region would have received a further £627 per person in public funding, an increase of £1.35bn, which would have done much towards solving some of our problems.

For us, Mr Blair, it might be better if the Scots DID vote SNP.