Cutting funding for Scotland could well cost England dear

From: John Mason MSP, Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh.

I HAVE been enjoying a few days holiday in Yorkshire and in particular have appreciated seeing Spurn Head, the National Railway Museum, and the walls of York. I am a member of the Scottish Parliament and was previously a member of the Westminster Parliament.

It has also been a good experience reading the Yorkshire Post. I would wish you well in campaigning for your region. Needless to say, I was interested in your funding comparisons between Yorkshire and Scotland (Yorkshire Post, July 9).

I would just make the following couple of points:

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Scotland contributes 9.4 per cent of UK revenue compared to our 8.4 per cent share of population. Therefore, as we are effectively subsidising the UK, it seems only fair that we benefit from higher expenditure.

If England wants to keep Scotland in the UK (together with our oil, renewable energy potential, and nuclear submarine base), then England has to be prepared to pay Scotland extra to compensate us for our loss of sovereignty. If funding for Scotland is reduced, then Scotland will probably leave the UK. Then we will see who gains and who loses.

From: Shaun Beal, Main Street, Hatfield Woodhouse, Doncaster.

OH dear, a politics student may have to leave the county to get a job. What a shock (Yorkshire Post, July 9).

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Just what position was this politics graduate expecting to take up after completing his studies at one of the region’s top universities? Not Oxford or Cambridge then?

To say: “I have applied for jobs up here which I have considered myself wildly over qualified for and I haven’t even got a look in. This is because of the competition and the number of people going for each vacancy.”

This probably says as much about this young man than his degree ever will. Would a degree in a different subject have helped?

I would also bet that not every vacancy that he failed to get was taken by a degree graduate.

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The world is full of Yorkshiremen and women doing all sorts of work, some with degrees and some without. The brain drain has always existed, Yorkshire can manage, after all our loss is someone else’s gain.