Poor Lord Barnett again and again he and committees say the Barnett Formula is unfair, yet nothing happens. It's like the words are said in space, where no one can hear you speak. Another committee, this time the Lords have said the Barnett formula is "arbitrary and unfair".
Their proposal for a new Barnett formula is for it to link spending and need. Money going where it is most needed seems a fair proposal. There are however bigger elephants in the room that addressing this will draw attention to and for Labour this a really rocky road. Most of their support now lies in Scotland and Wales. Addressing this will leave the SNP wanting more and raise the question of where does England fit into this? Which could end up cutting Labour off from it's support base.
I don't have any problem with devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, it makes sense to address regional differences. I do however have an issue with devolution not applying to England. That issue is MPs voting on bills that will not effect any one in their constituencies, or as it's known the West Lothian question. My objection to it is simply that who are MPs accountable to and who are they voting for, if not their constituency?
There's no simple answer to what happens next to Britain, but it needs to be asked. Labours devolution was ill thought out and badly implemented. It's created resentment and is becoming a glaring oblivious issue, yet they just leave resentment building as they bury their heads in the sand. Their inaction is dividing Britain and all for the sake of themselves.
Their proposal for a new Barnett formula is for it to link spending and need. Money going where it is most needed seems a fair proposal. There are however bigger elephants in the room that addressing this will draw attention to and for Labour this a really rocky road. Most of their support now lies in Scotland and Wales. Addressing this will leave the SNP wanting more and raise the question of where does England fit into this? Which could end up cutting Labour off from it's support base.
I don't have any problem with devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, it makes sense to address regional differences. I do however have an issue with devolution not applying to England. That issue is MPs voting on bills that will not effect any one in their constituencies, or as it's known the West Lothian question. My objection to it is simply that who are MPs accountable to and who are they voting for, if not their constituency?
There's no simple answer to what happens next to Britain, but it needs to be asked. Labours devolution was ill thought out and badly implemented. It's created resentment and is becoming a glaring oblivious issue, yet they just leave resentment building as they bury their heads in the sand. Their inaction is dividing Britain and all for the sake of themselves.
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