Scottish independence: MPs set to pour scorn on finance plan

[Budfrog]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 44612.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

An influential committee of MPs is set to "pour scorn" on two key financial claims made by the Scottish independence campaign this week. Plans by the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) to renationalise the Royal Mail north of the border would be excessively expensive, a report by the House of Commons Business Select Committee will conclude. It is also expected to say charging students coming from the rest of the UK to study in Scotland would break European Union law.

The conclusions will help ignite the independence debate which will also witness the first live debate on STV between Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, and Alistair Darling, the former Labour chancellor, who heads the "Better Together" campaign. With just 44 days to go before next month's vote, it is expected that Mr Salmond will attempt to woo voters and make up the 14 per cent gap in the opinion polls which suggest the pro-Union Better Together movement should comfortably win.

The select committee's full report examining the business implications of Scottish independence is expected to be published later this week. It is understood it will reject the SNP's argument that it could continue to charge English, Welsh and Northern Irish students attending Scotland's universities. The charges will bring the Scottish administration an additional £62m a year in 2014-15.

However, as a separate EU state, Scotland could no longer only charge the rest-of-the-UK students tuition fees of up to £9,000 a year while those from Scotland and elsewhere in the EU pay nothing, according to legal experts. Under EU rules, there can be different charging regimes only for students within the same state. "That's not a sustainable income stream up north," said a source close to the committee.

Mr Salmond has also pledged to renationalise the Scottish part of the Royal Mail after the coalition privatised the five-century-old service last year. In June, the select committee accused the Government and its advisers of undervaluing the Royal Mail by about £1bn when shares were first sold on the London Stock Exchange in October.

The MPs will conclude this means it will be much costlier for Scotland to buy back its share of Royal Mail. Scotland is also a particularly expensive area to run the universal service, as postal workers are delivering mail to remote locations.

"The distribution and mail centre costs are high because of the distance," said a member of the committee. "How you could renationalise the Royal Mail without higher subsidies or prices has not been explained. I think there are a lot of difficult questions for the SNP."

Several of the MPs on the committee, which is chaired by Labour MP Adrian Bailey, are also "extremely irritated" that Scotland Finance Secretary John Swinney did not give evidence. He was due to attend, but diary clashes initially delayed his hearing and Mr Swinney is said to have eventually decided against appearing before the parliamentary committee.

A spokesman for Mr Swinney said: "The fact a Westminster committee of anti-independence MPs has chosen to attack such policies speaks volumes. It is the Scottish Government's commitment to vital public services – and the parallel threat to such services from Westminster's privatisation agenda, including to the NHS – that is seeing more and more people deciding to vote Yes to an independent Scotland."

[mailman71]

Salmond is promising the earth if its a yes vote where he is going to find the money for all this nobody knows.
If I was Royal Mail in England I would be hoping we vote yes because Scotland has vast rural deliveries it will cost a fortune to maintain current levels of delivery.
It's going to be an interesting few weeks coming up here in Scotland.

[newtimes]

Never have so many Scottish MPs have been travelling about Scotland trying to save their jobs. Read Common Weal, All Of Us First, ISBN 978-0-9550362-7-9 http://reidfoundation.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; It can be done.

[Danelectro]

Salmond is promising the earth if its a yes vote where he is going to find the money for all this nobody knows.
If I was Royal Mail in England I would be hoping we vote yes because Scotland has vast rural deliveries it will cost a fortune to maintain current levels of delivery.
It's going to be an interesting few weeks coming up here in Scotland.

The CWU said for over twenty years that a privatised postal service would be more expensive than a state run one so whats changed? The creators of the report above and the general consensus of the mainstream parties in the UK is that we are better off paying for a higher cost service for eternity rather than buying back a cheaper service as an investment alongside demanding the European directive that started this ball rolling is looked at again.Theres only ever one way to solve anything in the UK and that's to privatise it and once its done any attempt to reverse it would be costly madness but they are lying.

Why is it the citizens of the UK have got to pay off the Royal Mail pension fund while investors round the world make money on something they used to own? Where are the general public going to find all the money for that? nobody knows

You speak as if Royal Mail aren't currently up in arms with the regulator over direct delivery and warning the USO is under threat and you can bet if the regulator doesn't do what Royal Mail want then rural deliveries in Wales,England,Northern Ireland AND Scotland will be on a shoogly peg..but until then nobody knows!

Also many Private couriers have been adding ridiculous charges to delivering anything in the highlands etc for years and I have even seen them charging extra to that faraway outpost and Oil Capitol of Europe -Aberdeen! so whats new.The UK offers no guarantee for 6 day deliveries in any of the home nation rurals never mind just Scotland and thats something everybody should know.

[hans solo]

the opinion polls do NOT include the opinions of the poverty stricken ,means tested, atos disibility abused, benefit capped and refused,and numerous other members of scottish society whohave been ravaged by english westmister
they are in for one almighty kick in the balls come sept 14

[mailman71]

the opinion polls do NOT include the opinions of the poverty stricken ,means tested, atos disibility abused, benefit capped and refused,and numerous other members of scottish society whohave been ravaged by english westmister
they are in for one almighty kick in the balls come sept 14

If I was as confident as you I would be going down to my local bookie and putting a wedge on a yes vote,but they are offering odds of 3/1 on a no vote so I think that's more likely to be the outcome.
It's not just us in Scotland that have been ravaged by Westminster Wales Northern Ireland and large parts of England have been hit as well.

[hans solo]

thats correct but we have a vote to get rid of tories forever
england wales and n ireland dont