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Demand for Scottish Independence Grows

There is growing unrest in England – eventually it will not be the SNP who secures Scottish Independence but the increasing resentment of the people of England who will bring about the divorce. The two articles below help to explain why – and at the end of the day Scottish Independence will be seen as England’s gain.


Taken from the Scotland on Sunday 2006-01-22
Scots MPs target English reforms

Scots Labour MPs have publicly declared their intention to rebel against the government over Tony Blair's controversial education reforms even though the proposals will not affect schools north of the Border.

In a move sure to trigger a fresh backlash in England over the role of Scottish MPs, around half of the 40-strong group of backbenchers say they will not be "dragooned" into backing the Prime Minister, and are preparing to vote his plans down. Their opposition could push the number of Labour MPs opposed to the plans above 100, forcing Blair to rely on Conservative support to get his flagship reforms through.

The decision by the Scots Labour MPs to enter the row over the reforms is certain to be bitterly controversial in Westminster, with support growing for Scots MPs to be banned from voting on English-only affairs. It brings the famous West Lothian Question, which asked why - post devolution - Scots MPs could vote on English matters, when English MPs could not vote on Scottish matters, back into centre stage.

The Scots MPs are insisting they will continue to vote on the forthcoming education White Paper. This time, however, instead of backing the government, many are expected to rebel. They are objecting to elements within the new bill which seek to create a new breed of 'Trust' schools in England which will have a greater freedom from local authorities to choose their own policies on admissions.

Both Education Secretary Ruth Kelly and Downing Street advisers have met the rebel Scots MPs in recent weeks to persuade them to side with the government, but it is understood they were knocked back. One of the rebels, Michael Connarty, MP for Falkirk East, said: "This is a charter for discriminating against children in poor social circumstances. The government should not be assuming that they can rely on 40 Scottish votes just because it doesn't affect our constituencies. Many of our MPs are saying that they wouldn't back this if it was in their own areas, so the government can't assume that we will be on their side."

Brian Donohoe, MP for Central Ayrshire, added: "There will be a sizeable number of Scottish MPs who will object to this. I am inclined to vote against it at present. There is now a pattern of legislation, being put forward either in Scotland or England, which it is almost certain will then be introduced into the other country. If this is perceived by some people as a success in England, then you can bet your bottom dollar that it will be introduced in Scotland soon enough as well."

Other rebel MPs have remained silent so far, fearing that their opposition will turn the debate over the White Paper into a row over their constitutional position. However, it is thought that at least a third of the backbenchers are opposed, with a substantial number on top of that likely to abstain. Former education secretary Estelle Morris, who is leading the group of 90 Labour MPs who have put forward an alternative to Kelly's bill, last night said she would be "very happy" to have the Scots group on board in her camp. She added: "While Scottish MPs are there they have got a right to vote and I'm quite relaxed about that."

However, one senior Downing Street aide insisted that they were still confident of winning the MPs around. "There is no suggestion that they are in the mood to oppose these proposals," the aide said.
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Taken from the Scotsman 2006-01-20
£1,000 extra per pupil - so why are our schools not doing better?

Ministers  were accused last night of failing to deliver improvements in schools despite the fact that state education spending in Scotland is now £1,000 per pupil higher than it is south of the Border. Scottish Executive figures yesterday showed education spending was £4.2 billion in 2004-5, an increase of £300 million on the year before.

Broken down, that worked out at £3,855 per primary pupil and £5,428 for every child in secondary school. Nationwide, that equates to an average of £4,641 per pupil. In England, local education authorities will spend £3,411 per pupil in 2005-6, rising to £3,643 the following year.

Spending on state education in Scotland is also edging closer to independent school levels, where the average non-boarding fee in 2004-5 was £5,820. The publication of the Executive's figures coincided with a report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMI) that showed a widening gulf between the best and worst performing pupils in Scotland.

The report revealed some 60,000 of Scotland's most vulnerable pupils had been unaffected by a raft of Executive initiatives to improve attainment - despite more than £23 billion of education spending since devolution.

Fiona Hyslop, the SNP's education spokeswoman, said the report was proof that the Executive's policy of "throwing money" at the problem was not delivering and she called for radical reform of the entire education system.  She said: "The rise in education spending stands in stark contrast to the recent HMI report which showed that children from deprived communities are being failed by the education system.

 "Throwing money at education will not, on its own, solve the very real problems that are being faced by teachers and pupils alike. It's obvious that the real difficulty lies with the policies being pursued by the Scottish Executive. "What's needed is proper provision of early-years education to start children off on the right foot, high achievement goals like the baccalaureate to encourage pupils to aim high, and cutting class sizes to ensure that pupils have the support they need to fulfil their potential. Scotland's school pupils need a change in the political culture to one which celebrates and encourages excellence and achievement."

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, the Tory education spokesman, said state spending on education in Scotland had gone up by 60 per cent since 1999. "Yet, despite all this additional money, the gap between the most deprived schools, and schools in more affluent areas has grown," he said. He said giving headteachers and parents a greater say in running their schools, rather than continually pouring more money into the system, would lead to improvements in education performance.

Yesterday's figures revealed total expenditure on primary education in 2004-5 was £1.5 billion, while in the secondary sector it was £1.7 billion. A further £435 million was spent on special education, while £490 million went on pre-school education and other costs, taking the total budget past £4 billion for the first time.

The HMI report, Missing Out, revealed the proportion of pupils who had not reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths was falling. However, the proportion doing better than the expected level was rising at a faster rate - so the gap between the two groups was slowly increasing.

Graham Donaldson, HMI's senior chief inspector, said "too little attention" had been paid to the lowest-performing 20 per cent of pupils. "Consideration of the high proportions of young people whose life chances are considerably reduced through low achievement at school has quickly become a loud and persistent wake-up call," he said.

Peter Peacock, the education minister, has warned that the problem may take a generation to fix. But an Executive spokeswoman insisted that ministers were taking steps to solve it. "Overall, the system is improving and kids are performing better," she said. "We know about the bottom 20 per cent and are determined to address this issue, but it's going to take time."
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