Northern Rock- who will really pay?

With the whole fiasco over the last couple of days, this English patriot is left asking- "who will really pay?"

Our (Scottish) Chancellor has been accused of incompetence, with the "taxpayer" currently subsidising the bank in loans and guarantees to other lenders to the tune of about £55bn. Apparently this will rise to £110bn, an equivalent of £3,500 per taxpayer.

Meanwhile our (Scottish) Prime Minister hasn't sacked Darling, nor will Darling resign. Neither are accountable to a single English voter- and yet- were Scotland to leave the UK in the next couple of years, what would Brown, Darling and Salmond decide would happen to this incredible burden?

Brown: What about the North Sea Oil?
Salmond: Scotland will have that.
All: Agreed.
Brown: What about this massive national debt?
Salmond: England can keep that!
All: Agreed!

Berwick wants to join Scotland

Residents in the English town of Berwick-upon-Tweed have voted in a TV poll to"re-join Scotland".

60% of people who voted wanted to the Northumberland town to become part of Scotland again- the main reason being the better public services available in Scotland.

Organisers of the TV programme said the poll turnout was 1,957 votes- compared to some 3,800 in the last local elections.


There has been pro-Scotland and pro-England campaigns to persuade voters, with both campaigns highlighting the situation whereby services in Scotland are far better than in England.

Former school teacher Barbara Herdman campaigned in the town for a pro-English vote and for a change in how public spending is allocated across the UK. She said: "I think that Berwick should stay part of England because it's so unfair what is happening at the moment.

"The Scots are getting more money than we are. I'm not saying that the Scots should not get what they get, but that we should get the same."

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Should Berwick actually become part of Scotland, it could be a risky move. Scotland may well have better public services thanks to money from England, but if the UK splits up those public services will undoubtedly become a thing of the past.

Then again, the fickle people of Berwick may then decide that the grass is in fact greener in England's pleasant lands.

I say that any official poll on Berwick re-joining Scotland, regardless of the outcome, should be binding for 50 years.