Thursday, 8 November 2007

That question again

Some interesting thoughts from Peter Riddell in the Times on how to answer the West Lothian question (if I may be permitted to use the words "interesting" and "West Lothian question" in the same sentence).

He says the idea is to give devolved governments a bigger role in raising their own budgets. That would also help tackle the point made by Stephen Crabb recently that the current system fuels a culture in which there is an inbuilt incentive to demand higher public spending.

Peter's article is another reminder that the pressure for a review of the way Wales is funded is not only coming from west of Offa's Dyke. Arguments about public spending in Scotland may be driving the debate but Wales will be caught in the slipstream.

1 comment:

Glyn Davies said...

Both I (when Tory Assembly Finance Spokesman) and Sue Essex (when she was the Finance Minister) warned that opening a debate on the Barnett Formula was dangerous and not guarenteed to benefit Wales. It looks as if we will find out before too long.