The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland

The Scottish subsidy myth

Posted on November 08, 2011 by

A very welcome piece in the New Statesman on the much-propagated lie that Scotland is subsidised by England. Could do with linking some of its sources, but still a worthwhile non-partisan reference. Also features a comment debunking another myth, namely the one that Labour need Scottish MPs to form a majority at Westminster. (Details appended below the jump.)

UK GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS 1966-PRESENT
(Italics signify years when Scottish MPs made a material difference to the makeup of the government)

1966: Labour majority of 96. Excluding Scotland, Lab majority of 4

1970: Conservative majority of 15. Excluding Scotland, Con majority of 40.

1974a: Labour largest party, no overall majority. Excluding Scotland, Labour largest party, no overall majority.

1974b: Labour majority of 4. Excluding Scotland, Lab largest party with no overall majority.

1979: Conservative majority of 44. Excluding Scotland, Con majority of 71.

1987: Conservative majority of 101. Excluding Scotland, Con majority of 153.

1992: Conservative majority of 21. Excluding Scotland, Con majority of 71.

1997: Labour majority of 177. Excluding Scotland, Lab majority of 137.

2001: Labour majority of 166. Excluding Scotland, Lab majority of 127.

2005: Labour majority of 65. Excluding Scotland, Lab majority of 43.

2010: Conservatives largest party with no overall majority. Excluding Scotland, Con majority of 20.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Category media, scottish politics, uk politics
Trackback: trackback from your own site.

Comment - please read this page for comment rules. HTML tags like <i> and <b> are permitted. Use paragraph breaks in long comments. DO NOT SIGN YOUR COMMENTS, either with a name or a slogan. If your comment does not appear immediately, DO NOT REPOST IT. Ignore these rules and I WILL KILL YOU WITH HAMMERS.

←
→

  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a thing that exists.

    Stats: 6,781 Posts, 1,220,684 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

    and finally and firstly arithmetic fail braveheart klaxon britnats captain darling cartoons Chris Cairns confused cringe crybabies dateline debates Devo Nano Federalists Unionists and Devolutionists flat-out lies foreigner watch from the archives fundraisers galleries Greg Moodie hamish hypocrisy liars light-hearted banter lizards memogate misinformation one nation perspectives poll project fear project feart qft Scott Minto smears snp accused soapbox the positive case for the union The Vow ticktock toldyouso too wee too poor too stupid unionist of the day vote no get nothing

  • Recent Comments

    • Northcode on Holiday Relief: “I don’t detect much in the way of respect emanating from your comment… so let’s not bother with that particular…” Jun 25, 19:21
    • Hatey McHateface on But Don’t Give Yourself Away: “Isn’t NI hoaching with yoons? In the event that demographic change forces unification of the island of Eire, won’t many…” Jun 25, 19:15
    • Anthem on But Don’t Give Yourself Away: “I agree totally. Even though the tools are there to dismantle this disgusting, corrupt organisation, the streets and voices are…” Jun 25, 19:04
    • Hatey McHateface on But Don’t Give Yourself Away: “Shame. We’ll never know just how good it was. Anyhoo, Xaracen already has today’s Stellar Post Award, although Confused has…” Jun 25, 19:03
    • Ian McCubbin on But Don’t Give Yourself Away: “Northern Ireland has no resources do England wants rid of it and it’s people too costly to keep. Contrast that…” Jun 25, 18:51
    • 100%Yes on But Don’t Give Yourself Away: “I have no doubt in my mind that Swinney is happy for the Holyrood MSP’s to be sacrificed the same…” Jun 25, 18:17
    • James Jones on But Don’t Give Yourself Away: “NI would be looking for reunification, not independence. Eire would have to be willing. Would they? Perhaps, but it’s complicated.…” Jun 25, 18:11
    • AndrewR on But Don’t Give Yourself Away: “not for publication I think I was just modded, for my email about Hatey. Thankyou! Again. He can look after…” Jun 25, 17:55
    • Callum on But Don’t Give Yourself Away: “GTF Seamus GTF Scotland 1 & 2 for me in 2026 for any party that backs national elections as de…” Jun 25, 17:46
    • Alf Baird on But Don’t Give Yourself Away: “This fits well with what postcolonial theory tells us about the decolonization process: https://yoursforscotlandcom.wordpress.com/2024/05/25/the-three-phases-of-decolonization-lessons-for-scotland/” Jun 25, 17:26
    • Frank Waring on But Don’t Give Yourself Away: “Why not organise to have a true independence referendum in, say, 18 months, and raise the money to pay for…” Jun 25, 16:50
    • Doug on But Don’t Give Yourself Away: “Logan is more Wishart than Wishart.” Jun 25, 16:42
    • Mark Beggan on But Don’t Give Yourself Away: “And people talked about MI5 conspiracy. Who needs to conspire when you’ve got Scotlands very own guide to Failure. An…” Jun 25, 16:29
    • Insider on But Don’t Give Yourself Away: “A “soupsong ” ??? Minny, minny, minny, minestrone…. We are the alphabetties…happy girls and boys… Cock-a-leekie (favourite of many MSPs)…” Jun 25, 16:22
    • Aidan on A different school: “@Xaracen – you aren’t making any recognised form of legal argument that can be engaged with though. You seem to…” Jun 25, 16:15
    • James on A different school: “Don’t waste your time engaging, James C, these are paid trolls.” Jun 25, 16:07
    • duncanio on But Don’t Give Yourself Away: “After saying “challenging the Westminster parties to concede the principle of consent in letting Scotland determine its own democratic future…” Jun 25, 15:59
    • Athanasius on But Don’t Give Yourself Away: “Of course, there is also the fact that Westminster would like nothing more than to actually get rid of Northern…” Jun 25, 15:51
    • Aidan on A different school: “Without going into too much detail, essentially it gives the Scottish people the ability to act as a check on…” Jun 25, 15:50
    • AndrewR on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “Confused: do you know any English people? Or any Muslims for that matter. I find myself looking for Hatey’s reactions…” Jun 25, 15:41
    • Xaracen on A different school: “But you still haven’t addressed any of my actual arguments, Aidan. You never pay the slightest attention to them, and…” Jun 25, 15:35
    • robertkknight on But Don’t Give Yourself Away: “Ever get the feeling you’re being gaslit? Independence for Scotland! SNP Out!” Jun 25, 15:34
    • AndrewR on A different school: “I’ve been following the argument, but there are some basic assumptions I don’t get. The first one is that the…” Jun 25, 15:28
    • Insider on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “confused… You don’t seem well today ! Not well at all ! Have you been skipping your medication again ?” Jun 25, 15:27
    • Confused on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “they have shit in their brains and a 500 word vocabulary which they mangle incessantly then they object to other…” Jun 25, 14:55
    • Confused on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “I think there needs to be a police investigation into their racketeering – how you fuck up a business that…” Jun 25, 14:55
    • Aidan on A different school: “If that is true, how did Scotland enter into the European Community in 1973?” Jun 25, 14:50
    • Confused on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “it is the englishness which is objectionable, not the canine – I was referring to your endless desire to YAP…” Jun 25, 14:24
    • Hatey McHateface on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “Hatred of dogs now, eh Confused? What demographic is it that hates dogs, regarding them as unclean? Anybody? Anybody at…” Jun 25, 14:06
    • crazycat on Anatomy Of A Lunatic: “Replying to Sarah at 12.03 When you said that “Apparently if you stand in the constituency you get 4 times…” Jun 25, 13:52

  • A tall tale



↑ Top