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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 22h

The regional GDP data is here www.ons.gov.uk/economy/gros... The regional spending and revenue data tables are here www.ons.gov.uk/economy/gove... You may be willing to give it a go, but the cuts needed would be equivalent to the entire education, policing, prison, court and fire service budgets.

ons.gov.uk

Regional economic activity by gross domestic product, UK - Office for National Statistics

Annual estimates of economic activity by UK country, region and local area using gross domestic product (GDP).

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

London has about 13.1% of the UK population, generates about 22% of UK GDP and tax, and gets about £49b less in spending than it raises.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

A lot of GDP is generated in London because that's where the highest margin jobs are. It has no effect on Scotland's GDP, other than likely boosting it through economies of scale and a larger market.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

It covers GDP, and public sector revenue and spending. It's hardly comprehensive, but it's an important set of measures. Are you disputing the figure?

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Scotland has 8% of the UK population and raises 8% of UK tax It has 8.8% of UK MPs and gets 9.1% of all UK spending, and extra £2,700 per person per year.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

The UK's only site for storing high and intermediate level nuclear waste is in England. If independent, Scotland would have to pay commercial rates to access it.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

No, it was nothing to do with any government. Just the owners getting fed up with it losing money.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

This is just so sad. My youngest is now 9 and is never happier than when reading. She devours books. But at least twice a week I still get her to out her book down so I can read to her. I will not give up that time until forced to.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I am afraid nothing you can say will make me feel sorry for or appreciate Grangemouth. I am wildly biased against it for the entirely unfair reason that it is the home of a particular, and utterly toxic, ex.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

The UK's only tactical defence would be to destroy the launching ship, submarine or aircraft before the fired, so in your scenario where they have been fired, neither would get protection.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I suspect the next day some anonymous bank clerk thought rude but valid things about the chippy owner, and then the chippy owner thought rude but unfair things about you.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Thinking someone would claim Grangemouth is the type of optimism Scotland needs more of.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Oil exploration and extraction are reserved powers, as are national oil pipelines, but I don't think refineries are.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Depends where you are. Big shop in a touristy city, and I have never had a problem. Small business in a place with few tourists, then a problem. People from Northern Irleland have the same problem in Scotland. Less of an issue now as cash is less than 1 in 10 transactions.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I would like to claim beef steak, but lard is probably closer.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

The SNP came to power initially on the back of a supply and confidence deal with the Tories. The decade long council tax freeze which cripples the independence and finances of local authorities was what the Tories got in return.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

78% of what? They have never had over 50% of a vote.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Best how? Nominal cash? At PPP? At mean, median, minimum or max level? As a share of final income? Share of average personal income? Share of national average? Why would you consider pension credits as separate from the pension scheme? Why wouldn't you consider other parts of the pension system?

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I like the idea of crossing without the roar of the normal diesel(?) engines.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Why would this time be different from before when demand was so low from tourists and businesses?

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

By doing it this way it won't appear in the cancellation or reliability figures as the crossings will never have been timetabled.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Restricting pay increases is part of what led to the expenses scandal. Politicians should be properly paid for the work they do, and we should pay enough to attract those who are highly skilled but not independently wealthy.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

We don't have the worst pensions, they are about average. The comparisons that put us worst aren't comparing like with like.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Lower taxes, lower emissions, an economy that moved away from subsidy requiring heavy industry to services, and infrastructure spending that gave a better risk adjusted return. You may not agree with all of them, but we have them.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I think we should ensure we support that. I shouldn't have gone to university straight from school, I would have been far better off working for 4-5 years first.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

It's far from an ideal approach, but I don't have one of those.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

When <10% went to university a degree meant a decent income was likely. Now it doesn't, so it's hard to persuade people to take on debt at the beginning of their career for a low income later. I wonder if mature or part time study is the way to capture people who love the subject and can afford it?

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

What would zonal pricing do to producers in Scotland?

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I worked for a company that did surveys that were identifiable, and banal. They always published the results as they looked good. The non-execs questioned this so they did a genuinely non identifiable study. They didn't publish that one.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The articles round it say the number of people studying Scottish literature is increasing, so l can't say I am too concerned about losing specific degree titles that few if any people are studying.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Judging by my one climb of Schiehallion, the experiment would be way off today as the number of people on it would amount to a significant portion of the mass of the mountain.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Bonfire of stand alone degrees, they are still, rightly, teaching the content. But if hardly anyone wants to take the course, what do you propose they do?

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

They are still going to teach both, just not Scottish literature as a stand alone course. There is a limited budget, and on average 1.5 people took the degree each year, so what other course should they cut to keep that degree running?

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I have certainly never had one and can't think of anyone who has, although it's not a regular topic of conversation so may not know if they did.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Glad to hear someone talking about the benefits of water meters. Until I moved to England I didn't really think about how much water I was using and wasted loads. The cost difference may have been marginal, but it takes unnecessary energy to clean water twice.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

You are reading something that isn't there. How money is raised and spent is irrelevant to determining the deficit. If total spending is greater than total revenue you have a deficit, and Scotland does.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

That doesn't say what you think. The "cut" was actually just a reduction in the size of the increase in spending, and even with this "cut" Scotland still had spending of £123.6b from revenue of £98.3b.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Poor you. Touch wood, I have avoided Covid for the last couple of years. When you're feeling a bit better I would like to understand more about what you found.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

For every £4 of tax raised in Scotland, Scotland has £5 of spending. The actual figures being £98.3b tax and £123.6b spending.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

That's an odd way to describe getting £5 of spending for every £4 of tax.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Devolved spending, pensions and benefits accounted for over 100% of tax raised in Scotland, with all other reserved spending funded by a share of UK borrowing and money from England.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I just wish we could find a less awful industry as a poster child for supporting rejoining.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

However we are clearly never going to agree on this, so let's call it quits.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The UK Government says otherwise. France, the USA, Germany, the EU and others will all use British Isles, too.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Even though it covers islands that are neither part of Ireland or part of the UK?

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

How can it be a loss when the term describes the situation for the first 1,300 to 1,700 years it applied (depending on when you count from and to)?

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I thought you were claiming this argument was not based on politics? Again you're contradicting yourself.

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dbrown101.bsky.social @dbrown101.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

How can a name designed to cover all the islands be a mistake? You also assume the Greeks and Egyptians were differentiating between the possible and dubious ethnic differences, or that the islands were names after the people and not the other way round.

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