By UKIP leader Nigel Farage.
Scotland voted to save the Union, only just …but at what cost to the unity of the Kingdom?
It was a plebiscite dominated by the thuggery and threats of the SNP, a political party doped up by a lethal cocktail of nationalism and socialism, and led by that fantasy-peddling false prophet, Alex Salmond.
Alex Salmond
The reports of people ripping down posters, threatening and shoving people on the street was utterly disgraceful. It is behaviour that no decent-minded people would wish to see repeated ever again.
Throughout the campaign, Cameron was an absolute disaster, complacent and lazy in making a case for the Union; and Miliband was wholly ineffective.
In the run-up to the vote, in a desperate move to cover their own ineptitude in campaigning and their failure to make a positive case for the Union, the leaders of the three Old parties made promises to the Scottish people on ‘Devo Max’. In their desperation, they promised to give additional powers to the Scottish Parliament, pretty much leaving Westminster with oversight of just defence and foreign affairs.
The way that these three guys rolled over on the eve of this vote and offered ‘Devo Max’ was wholly disgusting. Without any electoral mandate on this matter from the British people they promised additional powers to the Scottish parliament, make the English pay for it, and get nothing in return.
Ed Milliband
‘Devo Max’ is a recipe for resentment. The English people have been suckers for too long. The time when we would just pay up and shut up is now over. We English weren’t put on earth to pay taxes for the benefit of others and have no say.
How can it be fair that Scottish MPs, already gifted powers over huge swathes of policy from healthcare to education and could soon be given further tax-raising powers, can then also vote on similar measures affecting the rest of the UK? And at the same time, English MPs don’t get to vote on similar matters in Scotland.
How can it be fair that 86% of the UK’s population who live in England each year receive substantially less government spending per head than people in Scotland? The English have to pay, but they have no say. Well, good riddance to that.
The Barnett Formula, by which the English pay their taxes and Scotland inordinately benefits must be revisited. It cannot be right that more is spent on Scottish people per head than the heavily put-upon taxpayers of England.
UKIP
We in UKIP are today starting a campaign to demand fairness and a voice for England.
We demand for England, the same rights and privileges as other people in the Union.
We are asking for, we need, and we demand a New Constitutional settlement for the four parts of the Kingdom. We need a new Act of Union.
The devolution revolution started by the Labour Party was a recipe for resentment. Well, the English need a fair deal too.
In the short term, in order to stop the resentment that the English are feeling, we need the cooperation of Scottish MPs today.
We need a new, stable and fair United Kingdom to ensure that future generations can benefit from the continuation of one of the most successful Unions in the world.
A VOICE FOR ENGLAND
UKIP is a national party with elected representation in all four nations of the United Kingdom. In a spirit of fairness, we want a new Constitutional Settlement for the UK which includes a fair deal for the 86% of the UK’s population who live in England.
WE DEMAND:
1.A fair deal in solving the West Lothian Question. Why should the Scottish get more power and money than the people of England?
English only votes in Westminster. I am today writing to all Scottish MPs asking for their commitment not to vote on English matters that would otherwise fall within powers devolved to Scotland.
I am urging Scottish MPs to cooperate and voluntarily remove themselves when there are votes in Westminster, on legislation which affects the English only, in a spirit of creating a UK which is fair for all.
2. Revision of the Barnett Formula. We want a full debate and vote in the House of Commons to rebalance this arbitrary and out-of-date concept.
3. No taxation without equal representation. The Electoral Commission must determine new boundaries for the constituencies of Scottish MPs so that the average number of constituents more closely resembles that in England.
4. A Constitutional Convention. Such a Convention needs to be rapidly established to put in place a plan for a Federal UK. If powers are devolved to the four nations, so too could tax-raising and spending powers.
