The Fiscal Crisis of the United Kingdom (Transforming Government)

Annotation Public expenditures go to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by the notorious Barnett formula, but this is collapsing and cannot last long, while formulae used in English regions also work badly. "The Fiscal Crisis of the United Kingdom" suggests how the system could be fixed, drawing lessons from Australia and Canada and recommending a Territorial Grants Commission The System For Allocating Public Expenditure To The Nations And Regions Of The Uk Has Never Worked Properly Since The Union Of 1707, When Scotland's Compensation For Joining The Union Arrived In Edinburgh In Carts Guarded By Dragoons. The Fiscal Crisis Of The United Kingdom Suggests How The System Could Be Fixed, Drawing Lessons From Australia And Canada. It Recommends A Politician-proof Territorial Grants Commission On Australian Lines, To Follow The Successful Depoliticisation Of Monetary Policy In The Uk.--jacket. 1. The Setting Of The Problem -- 2. Public Finance In The Uk Before 1888 -- 3. Gladstone, Goschen, Lloyd George And The Webbs -- 4. The Origins Of The Barnett Formula -- 5. Barnett And Devolution Today -- 6. Health -- Getting It Right -- 7. Local Government -- Getting It Wrong -- 8. The Whys And Wherefores Of Fiscal Flows -- 9. The Australian Model -- 10. The Canadian Model -- 11. Honest Centralism And Honest Localism. Iain Mclean. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 231-240) And Index. The system for allocating public expenditure to the nations and regions of the UK has never worked properly since the Union of 1707, when Scotland's compensation for joining the Union arrived in Edinburgh in carts guarded by dragoons. Even W.E. Gladstone got it wrong in 1886. Now it has irretrievably broken down. Money goes to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by the notorious Barnett Formula, but this is collapsing and cannot last long. Money goes to the English regions by poorly-understood formulae that work badly. People in every region think that the system is unfair to them. Money has gone not to the most deserving but to those who posed the most credible threat - once Ireland, nowadays Scotland. The Fiscal Crisis of the United Kingdom suggests how the system could be fixed, drawing lessons from Australia and Canada. It recommends a politician-proof Territorial Grants Commission on Australian lines, to follow the successful depoliticisation of monetary policy in the UK Contents......Page 6 List of Tables......Page 7 List of Figures......Page 9 Preface......Page 10 D......Page 17 G......Page 18 N......Page 19 P......Page 20 S......Page 21 W......Page 22 1 The Setting of the Problem......Page 24 2 Public Finance in the UK before 1888......Page 40 3 Gladstone, Goschen, Lloyd George and the Webbs......Page 62 4 The Origins of the Barnett Formula......Page 85 5 Barnett and Devolution Today......Page 98 6 Health – Getting it Right......Page 116 7 Local Government – Getting it Wrong......Page 136 8 The Whys and Wherefores of Fiscal Flows......Page 162 9 The Australian Model......Page 183 10 The Canadian Model......Page 203 11 Honest Centralism and Honest Localism......Page 228 Notes......Page 249 References......Page 254 B......Page 264 C......Page 265 E......Page 266 G......Page 267 L......Page 268 N......Page 269 P......Page 270 S......Page 271 V......Page 272 Z......Page 273