Union dividend
Encyclopedia
The Union dividend is a term used by British unionists
to describe the financial benefits which they believe that Scotland
and Wales
derive from being parts of the United Kingdom
.
Politicians who advocate the existence of a Union Dividend include Tony Blair
, Gordon Brown
, Jim Murphy
, Ian Davidson
, Jack McConnell
, Wendy Alexander
, Iain Gray
and Jackie Baillie
.
British unionism
British unionism is a political ideology favouring the continued existence of the United Kingdom as a sovereign state, consisting of four constituent countries, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland....
to describe the financial benefits which they believe that Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
derive from being parts of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Politicians who advocate the existence of a Union Dividend include Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, Jim Murphy
Jim Murphy
James Francis "Jim" Murphy is a British Labour Party politician and is the Member of Parliament for East Renfrewshire....
, Ian Davidson
Ian Davidson (Scottish politician)
Ian Graham Davidson is a Scottish Labour Co-operative politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Glasgow South West since 2005...
, Jack McConnell
Jack McConnell
Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale is a British Labour life peer in the House of Lords. He was third First Minister of Scotland from 2001 to 2007, making him the longest serving First Minister in the history of the Scottish Parliament...
, Wendy Alexander
Wendy Alexander
Wendy Alexander is a Scottish politician and the former Member of the Scottish Parliament for Paisley North. She held various Scottish Government cabinet posts and was the leader of the Labour Party group in the Scottish Parliament from 2007-2008...
, Iain Gray
Iain Gray
Iain Gray is a Scottish politician and the Leader of Scottish Labour Party Opposition in the Scottish Parliament. Gray was elected as the Member of the Scottish Parliament for the East Lothian constituency in 2007 having previously represented Edinburgh Pentlands from 1999 to 2003.-Background and...
and Jackie Baillie
Jackie Baillie
Jacqueline Marie Baillie is a Scottish Labour Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Dumbarton constituency and Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy.-Background:...
.
See also
- Barnett FormulaBarnett formulaThe Barnett formula is a mechanism used by The Treasury in the United Kingdom to adjust the amounts of public expenditure allocated to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales automatically to reflect changes in spending levels allocated to public services in England, England and Wales or Great...
- Block grantBlock grantIn a fiscal federal form of government, a block grant is a large sum of money granted by the national government to a regional government with only general provisions as to the way it is to be spent...
- Calman Commission
- Economy of ScotlandEconomy of ScotlandThe economy of Scotland is closely linked with the rest of the United Kingdom and the wider European Economic Area. Scotland has the second largest GVA per capita of countries in the United Kingdom after England, though it is still lower than the average of the United Kingdom as a whole...
- Economy of WalesEconomy of WalesThe Economy of Wales. In 2010, according to ONS provisional data, headline gross value added in Wales was £44,517m, making the Welsh economy the tenth largest of the UK's twelve regions ahead of only Northern Ireland and the North East of England...
- Fiscal autonomy for ScotlandFiscal autonomy for ScotlandFull fiscal autonomy, sometimes referred to as devolution max, devo-max or fiscal federalism, has come to be used to describe a situation where instead of receiving a block grant from the UK Exchequer as at present, the Scottish Parliament would receive all taxation levied in Scotland and would...
- Government Expenditure and Revenue ScotlandGovernment Expenditure and Revenue ScotlandGovernment Expenditure and Revenue Scotland is an annual report published by the Scottish Government. Its aim is to increase public understanding of fiscal policy in Scotland, especially fiscal tranfers to and from the UK Exchequer....
- Scottish Consolidated FundScottish Consolidated FundThe Scottish Consolidated Fund is the main fund operated by the Scottish Parliament. It receives a block grant from the UK Parliament's Consolidated Fund plus the operational receipts of the Scottish Government...