The Tories, headed by David "Scots blood in my veins" Cameron, have decided that the Barnett Formula - which sees such delightful things as English lives being valued less than Scots ones, free prescriptions in Wales whilst fees rocket in England, etc, should not be allowed to interfere with their Unionist obsession.
As they are riding high in the polls anyway, why give a stuff about England? They are quite blatant about it, too:
The party now enjoys a large opinion poll lead. Polls had suggested that reform of the Barnett formula could have an electric effect on voters - similar to last year's inheritance tax cut - but that the risk was no longer necessary. Ridley Grove made the case on Monday that large opinion poll leads are discouraging radicalism in Tory policy.
Reform could jeopardise talks with the Ulster Unionists. The focus is often on Scotland but as the graphic above shows, the biggest beneficiary of the current settlement is N Ireland. David Cameron has high hopes for Owen Paterson's co-operation talks with the UUP and unpicking the Barnett formula could greatly undermine the appeal of UUP-Tory candidates in their first General Election campaign.
Reform could be a gift to the SNP. Alex Salmond believes that reform of Barnett would be a massive gift to his hopes for independence. A poll earlier this week found that - regardless of Barnett - a quarter of Scots would be more likely to vote for independence if there was a Tory government.
Reform could hurt the Conservatives' Welsh revival. Although the party may not win many more seats in NI or Scotland there is a real chance of big gains in Wales. Conservatives in Cardiff fear that reform of Barnett could kill those chances. As part of the Tory commitment to Wales the Shadow Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan has already defended the continuation of the Welsh Office.
Evil, Self-Serving, Racist Bastards.
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