Tories might end funding mechanism for Scotland, hints David Cameron

12 April 2012

David Cameron: The funding mechanism for Scotland might be scrapped under a Tory government, he has hinted


David Cameron today hinted that a Conservative government might scrap the 30-year-old Barnett Formula, the mechanism which calculates how much money goes to devolved areas.

The Tory leader was speaking ahead of the Scottish Conservative conference in Ayr, in an interview in The Herald newspaper.

Asked if it was time to get rid of the formula, Mr Cameron told The Herald: "This cannot last for ever, the time is fast approaching.

"If we replace the Barnett Forumla with a needs-based formula, Scotland has very great needs and Scotland will get very great resources."

The newspaper asked whether the formula is coming to the end of the road.

Mr Cameron replied: "Yes, that's right. I want this to happen in a consensual, sensible, non-inflammatory way and that's why I've been so reticent about it."

Former Labour MP Lord Barnett came up with the funding system that is named after him more than 30 years ago.

The formula sets Scotland's share of public spending, and results in greater spending per head of population than in England, although its defenders argue that areas like London benefit massively from types of public spending not covered by the formula.

Mr Cameron also said that he was committed to the success of the Union, and warned that the SNP should not think that a Tory government in London would help the SNP towards their goal of Scottish independence.

He said: "If Alex Salmond thinks there's some clever game he can play about building on Scottish resentment against a Conservative government in England to help break up the Union, forget it.

"I will do everything I can to stop that from happening."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in