TUT TUT [SHAKES HEAD AND WALKS AWAY]

From Yes Scotland

The Westminster government has today published a list of 200 public bodies it claims would have to be replicated in an independent Scotland. It is probably one of the poorest and most embarrassing contributions to the referendum debate so far.

The list only serves to highlight two very important problems that exist within the current system of government.

Scottish Portrait Gallery

First, it shows just how out of touch Westminster has become. There appears to be a genuine lack of understanding about what actually goes on in Scotland. The first version of the list missed out 90 Scottish public bodies: the Westminster government didn't seem to know they even existed.

And, this new attempt shows the lack of knowledge goes deeper.

• they are so out of touch with Scotland, they don’t seem to realise we already have a national sports body SportScotland.
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• they say an independent Scotland will need an Information Commissioner, but we've already got one
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• they even suggest that an independent Scotland would need to replicate Public Health England - no, we won’t.

Scottish Food Standards Agency

The bizarre list goes on. There is the claim that an independent Scotland would need a Food Standards Agency.

We will have one. But at the moment the UK government is scrapping the Food Standard's agency for England.

National Library of Scotand

Scotland is clearly nowhere on the Westminster government's radar, to the extent that they believe an independent Scotland would have to replicate the British Library, forgetting we’ve already got the National Library of Scotland.

The second major problem they have, unwittingly, highlighted is the vast number of civil service functions that are carried out for Scotland, and paid for by Scottish taxpayers, but where the jobs and financial benefit go elsewhere.

Oh and look, we do sport too. And you thought all we did was go to the pub and the bookies!

The UK paper lists many bodies that perform a UK wide function but whose staff and offices are based wholly or almost totally in and around London. These include the Treasury and Foreign Office. Between them, these two departments have so few staff in Scotland you could count them on one hand. Your taxes are paying for these services, but the benefit of that investment is directed to the already dominant London economy.

...and we also even have our own royal palace

If these jobs were based in an independent Scotland, we'd still be paying for them through our taxes, but the benefit would be felt in the Scottish economy. The taxes they pay would go to the Scottish Exchequer. They would spend their wages in local shops boosting local jobs and local entrepreneurs. They would create career paths and new opportunities for graduates, for school leavers. Instead of feeding an already dominant London economy, the multi-million pound benefit would be felt right here in Scotland.

When you add all this to the laughable nonsense spoken by that fool (who is 'more Scottish than most Scotsmen'...according to him) Viscount Monckton last night, you start to wonder if anyone in UK politics actually has a clue what they are talking about when it comes to Scotland.

It might also have occurred to some of them that we actually own a part of all of the organisations which are based in England but serve the whole country... and that some of them are about as much use as an underwater hair dryer,  because their only reason for being set up was to reward some toady with a high paid non-job for "services rendered".