Inequalities of social care in Britain’s disunited kingdom

SO the UK Government promises to reform social care services in England. Reading all the articles on this subject, including yours, I can find no mention of the fact that these proposed changes apply to England only.

Instead, as usual, the politicians and the media seek to confuse and deceive the electorate (Yorkshire Post, July 5) by conflating England with the UK or Britain, failing to point out that post-asymmetrical devolution (dreamt up by Scottish Labour), the UK government can only dictate policy in England (with the help of Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs of course), as social care is a devolved issue.

Meanwhile the UK Government continues to subsidise (with English taxpayers’ cash) better services in Scotland and Wales. I bet most of your readers don’t know that social care services are freely available in Scotland. It is only the English who are forced to sell their homes to fund their care.

So when Andrew Lansley talks about the need to offset this against other costs, perhaps he should look at the hard-earned cash of English taxpayers going to pay for better services in the Celtic lands via the Barnett Formula (currently more than £50bn per year), or the billions wasted on EU membership, or the billions wasted on quangos, or the billions wasted on foreign military adventures, or the billions wasted on so-called international aid.

If this was truly a United Kingdom, then all citizens would have the same rights and the same benefits regardless of which country they live in. Instead we have an anti-English, apartheid state, a truly disunited kingdom.

When will the English get decent social care? Not until there is a referendum on English independence from the UK and EU. Only then will we have a government and parliament which represents and serves our interests.

From: D Grant, Woodfield Road, Burbage.

IN view of the discussions around the subject of costs of care for the elderly in England, perhaps we should take account of the Barnett Formula which gives an extra £1,500 per head to Scotland and enables them to offer free care for their old folk at the expense of our own. Why?

Well, they have their own parliament to safeguard their interests while we in England rely on the goodwill of MPs from outside of England.

We need a Parliament for England of MPs for English seats to ensure our interests are protected. Maybe then we can get some fairness.

From: RT Brooke, Coopers Croft, Leven, Beverley.

THE proposals for reforming the care for the elderly sadly fail to mention whether the Health Secretary is looking at making some sort of gesture to the people of England.

We now expect to be last in the queue when it comes to getting some return from our tax contribution!

Even part help is welcome, but if today’s politicians had any courage at all, they would:

Dispose of the Barnett Formula which will more than cover for financing.

Dispose of the West Lothian question... immediately.

Give us the much required and discussed referendum for an English Parliament.

Get out of the EU.