The Scotland-England relationship – and its implications for Gordon Brown’s ambitions – comes under renewed scrutiny in this morning’s Telegraph.
A YouGov survey for The Daily Telegraph finds that most voters are happy for a Scottish MP to become Prime Minister. More difficult for the Chancellor is public support for ‘English votes on English laws‘ and even stronger support for ending the England-to-Scotland-subsidy. 74% of Scottish voters want the subsidy from England to continue but 70% of English voters want it to stop. That support could easily grow if an English politician starts to describe what new services and projects might be affordable if the subsidy is scrapped.
A leader in The Telegraph thinks that everyone has lost out from the current spending settlement:
"The true losers are the Scots, trapped in the squalor of dependency. A people who were once a byword for enterprise and thrift are now reliant on handouts. More Scots look to the taxpayer for their income than don’t."
Voters are also unimpressed by last week’s
Gordon-Brown-supports-England photo stunt. 45% thought it a political
ploy. David Cameron is good at the Desert Island Discs/ Jonathan Ross
politics. Mr Brown should probably avoid more Arctic Monkeys interviews and
stick to traditional politics.