Some of England’s poorest regions are losing out on extra funding from the European Union while Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland benefit from the additional largesse, the Financial Times has learnt.
The government has determined there is insufficient time for the regions to spend a sudden windfall after the precipitate fall of the pound boosted the value of euro-denominated European Union grants by about a fifth.
To help them spend the money to fight recession, the European Commission recently offered an unprecedented six-month extension to its December 2008 deadline to all countries for unused funds as part of a €200bn (£178bn) economic stimulus package.
The UK took up the option for devolved regions but rejected it for England, casting a shadow over Gordon Brown’s tour of recession-hit areas and angering people in Merseyside, where the cabinet met on Thursday and which has missed out on a £10m exchange rate windfall.
To read the full FT article, click on the red text.
So, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, each with their own national governing bodies, have snapped up the money, whilst also wallowing in Barnett Formula payouts from England. But England, occupied by the UK Government and broken up into undemocratic regions against the will of the electorate, will not be getting any.
Because the occupying UK Government has said NO.
Big hat-tip to the Witanagemot Club.
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