XPost: soc.culture.scottish, soc.culture.irish, uk.media.tv.misc   
   From: peffers50@btinternet.com   
      
   "Paul Hyett"  wrote in message   
   news:yshmtRBanUcEFwvh@blueyonder.co.uk...   
   > In uk.media.tv.misc on Sun, 21 May 2006, allan connochie wrote :   
   >>   
   >>Of course you are right it doesn't work like that and cabinet places   
   >>shouldn't be given out by post-code. However there are 356 Labour MPs of   
   >>which about 41 represent Scottish constituences. Hence statistically once   
   >>rounded up you'd expect around 12% of the cabinet posts to be filled by   
   >>members from Scottish Labour constituencies. So of the 26 main cabinet   
   >>places youd expect there to be either 3 or 4 from Scottish consituencies.   
   >>There are in fact  5 hence there is only one more cabinet member from a   
   >>Scottish constituency than statistics suggest there should be.  Hardly   
   >>major   
   >>over-representation.   
   >   
   > Opponents of the gov't us a different calculation though.   
   >   
   > They point out that since Scotland's population is roughly 1/12 of the   
   > UK's (5m/60m), the 'correct' number would be more like 2 places out of 26.   
   > Personally, it makes no difference to me what part of the UK they're   
   > from - of far greater concern is how they are running the country.   
   >   
   > IMO it's a red herring anyway - it would only be a problem if Scotland   
   > were doing much better than the rest of the UK through this 'preferential'   
   > treatment. I see no evidence of that.   
   > --   
   > Paul 'Charts Fan' Hyett   
   No but I see evidence that England does get preferential treatment and is   
   doing much better and that is the problem. As pointed out many times   
   Scotland is a net exporter of oil, gas and electric power yet we pay more   
   for all these things than most of our southern cousins. Scotland is a net   
   exporter of food yet again we pay more for it than our southern cousins. We   
   do though pay the same taxes.   
   --   
      
   Robert Peffers,   
   Kelty,   
   Fife,   
   Scotland, (UK).   
   (When replying take pam away from peffers.   
   Scotland).   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)