Team GB's success at the Olympics is an example of what Scotland can achieve as part of the United Kingdom, former prime minster Gordon Brown has said. Mr Brown said the success the UK achieved from the pooled resources of all of the nations and regions of the UK in the Olympics also applied to other aspects of British life such as healthcare or defence. The former prime minister came out fighting in defence of the United Kingdom against the SNP's plans for Scottish independence during a lecture at the Edinburgh International Book festival. He praised the success of Scottish Olympians such as Edinburgh-born cyclist Chris Hoy, saying: "Chris Hoy has made the point for me, I don't have to make it for myself. When we pool and share resources for the common good, it's often the case that the benefit is far greater than would have occurred if we had just summed up and added up the parts." He added: "The Olympics is pretty clear to us that by the pooling of resources in, say, cycling we managed to do what if you just divided the money and put a tenth to Scotland and a tenth to Yorkshire and so on you could not have achieved the same results." In an often self-effacing speech, the former chancellor joked that he was "maybe not the best person" to be talking about economics any more. But he warned against breaking up "the fiscal union" of the UK, saying: "If you break up the sharing and pooling of resources across the UK then it's clear that you will either have to cut public expenditure massively beyond what is being done at the moment, or you will have to tax Scottish people more." He added: "My worry about fiscal autonomy, which is now being proposed as the next stage of devolution, is that fiscal autonomy means more taxes in Scotland, not in a progressive way at all but simply to fill the gap that's left by not pooling and sharing the resources of the UK." A spokesman for Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney said Mr Brown was wrong on his views on tax and spending. He said: "Gordon Brown's attack on fiscal autonomy can only backfire on the anti-independence campaign - because the more the Unionist parties continue to offer Scotland nothing, the more they will encourage people to vote Yes to an independent Scotland. "Scotland is better off than the UK as a whole, and therefore Gordon Brown is wrong on tax and spending, and wrong about fiscal autonomy and independence." Take a look at this S, from one that knows. It is a blatant admission that Scotland’s current standard of living, pensions, health and aged care etc. is paid for by England. He is saying that independence will mean paying you own bills and why do that if the English will do it for you. F
Saturday, 18 August 2012
Olympics show UK strengths - Brown
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