Welsh Labour want to scrap Barnett Formula

5 Jun 2017

Campaign photography for Murdo Fraser by Angus Forbes

Responding to the news that Carwyn Jones has said that Welsh Labour would scrap the Barnett Formula, Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Murdo Fraser said:

“This is total chaos. The Scottish Labour manifesto is based on the Barnett formula operating – under their plans, spending on policies from arts education to council funding in England is supposed to lead to an increase in the Scottish budget.

“In the past, Kezia Dugdale has actually said that scrapping it would lead to £4 billion in cuts for Scotland.

“The Conservatives have explicitly promised to keep the Barnett formula.

“Jeremy Corbyn needs to come clean – and quick. Will Labour keep the Barnett formula? If they will, why is Labour in Wales saying they won’t?

“And if they won’t, why is it used in their manifesto and how much will Scotland lose if they cut it?”

Scottish Labour’s manifesto relied on Barnett to fund its spending promises:

The manifesto said:

  • Labour will extend the current provision of free school meals to all primary school children in England, paid for by removing the VAT exemption for private schools. Scotland would benefit from the Barnett consequentials of this policy, which would allow it to be replicated here. (p.42)
  • A Labour government will give councils in England extra funding next year – and Scotland will benefit financially (p.84)
  • Labour’s pledge to recruit 10,000 more police officers to work on community beats in England and Wales will mean Scotland will benefit from an investment of £70 million. (p.76)
  • A Labour government will halt cuts to fire services in England and Wales, and recruit 3,000 new firefighters – investment which would mean a boost to Scotland’s valued emergency services (p.79)
  • The arts pupil premium we will introduce for every primary school in England – a £160 million a year boost for schools – will mean more money for the Scottish government to invest in arts education. (p.93)

UK Labour’s manifesto promised huge spending increases in Scotland based on Barnett:

  • The Scottish Parliament will receive a huge funding increase from our policies, and massive numbers of Scots will benefit from our plans in areas reserved to Westminster (p.104).

Ian Murray has said said Barnett was ‘incredibly important’ to Scotland

  • Ian Murray: “It is incredibly important that Scotland’s position in the UK is maintained through the block grant and the Barnett formula” (Ian Murray, Hansard, 21 July 2016, link).

Kezia Dugdale has previously said that scrapping the Barnett formula would lead to £4 billion in cuts and could cost 138,000 jobs:

  • ‘Alex Salmond’s plans to scrap the Barnett formula means £4 billion worth of cuts’ (12 January 2015, link)
  • ‘Buy a Daily Record to read why I’m backing Nicola Sturgeon’s efforts to protect the Barnett formula.’ (14 February 2016, link)
  • ‘I’ll keep the Barnett Formula today, tomorrow, forever @JimforScotland #Scotdebates’ (8 April 2015, link)
  • ‘Scrapping the Barnett Formula for Full Fiscal Autonomy is economic madness and would cost 138,000 jobs’ (6 January 2014, link)

The Scottish Conservative manifesto reads:
‘We will continue to work in partnership with the Scottish and Welsh governments and the Northern Ireland Executive, in a relationship underpinned by pooling and sharing resources through the Barnett Formula’ (Scottish Conservative Manifesto 2017, link).