Thread by @theKSIP, London Calling (a Thread):The UK has many problems, and while @theSNP likes [...]

London Calling (a Thread):
The UK has many problems, and while @theSNP likes to highlight a perceived Scotland/England divide, a major issue facing this island is with the concentration of wealth in London and the SE of England. /1

The English regions are in the same position as Scotland and Wales, with economies that struggle to compete with the gravity of London, the combined economic, cultural, and political capital of the UK. /2

There is no easy solution to this. London’s place as one of a handful of truly ‘world cities’, its position as one of the main financial centres of the world, and its relative size compared to other UK cities, creates a compound effect that exacerbates the problem. /3

Empowering the regions only closes the gap if they can grow their economy faster than London and the SE. Bold solutions like moving the political capital are unlikely to get any traction, and even if Strathclyde, ‘Scotland’ or the regions of England could create a long-term /4

plan to create more economic growth, it will require significant investment to boot-strap this.

Within the UK, the tax revenues from London and the SE make it one of the few areas to generate a fiscal surplus, which then flows outwards to the other regions where more money /5

is spent than directly raised in taxes. In an ideal world this would not be required, but the alternative would be for all areas to spend only what they earn resulting in further disproportionate spending for London. This would of course compound the existing problem /6

with a brain-drain and relocation of businesses from elsewhere in the British Isles to the south-east.

Some may see this fiscal transfer as being only fair given that so much of the UK economy directly and indirectly benefits London, but @theKSIP believes that Strathclyde /7

can stand on its own feet, that its people don’t need this subsidy, and we instead want to ensure Strathclyde firms do not support the concentration of wealth in London by erecting legal, regulatory, and physical barriers. /8

Of course we could formulate ambitious plans to create a diverse, 21st century economy; to invest in cutting edge technologies and services, and then compete with London directly. Some would have used the fiscal transfer to subsidise such efforts, to vitalise the economy, /9

but that is not the way of nationalism! We instead reject the transfer of wealth from the prosperous south-east as being a patronising subsidy. /10

The good people of Strathclyde will happily accept massive cuts to services, pensions, healthcare, and education as they watch their children move away to seek well paid jobs and advance their careers. /11

We feel the best solution to the London problem is to let London continue to grow, to prosper, and to reject any redistribution of its disproportionate wealth. /12

Nationalism is not “from each according to his ability, to each according to their needs”, it is “from each within an abstract geographical territory, to each that also resides within the same abstract geographical territory” /13

This of course also means that no longer will Strathclyde subsidise the rest of ‘Scotland’, where too many people seek to live in sparsely populated areas (and Fife), but expect the same level of public service sas those that live in the prosperous western central belt. /14

When we gain our independence no longer will we transfer the wealth of Strathclyde to the Highlands and Islands (except those within Strathclyde). If that seems petty and shallow, then it is only as petty and shallow as refusing to accept transfers from London and the SE… /END

Latest Threads Unrolled: