Yes, yes, yes
ANY arrangement that does not favour Scotland, said the Scotsman, will be per- ceived as unfair. On this principle the Trea- sury arranges to raise money in England and spend it in Scotland. Joel Barnett, most tenacious of its chief secretaries, elevated this into a policy. There are no plans for allowing the English to vote on it but this week the Scots have a chance, of a sort. They have been encouraged by their Nationalists to believe that an independent Scotland would be very rich, because of North Sea oil. Before they buy this story they should buy a map. They will see that the border, following the Tweed's course, runs north-westwards to the sea. Interna- tional law would project it out across the seabed in the same direction, heading for Spitzbergen and leaving the Forties field far to the south. It's England's oil. I might vote for that, if anybody asked me.
Previous page
