It came to me in a dream - oh yes!
After thinking about Gordon Brown's 'economic miracle' and the fuss Labour of London's making about refusing to pony up Scotland's money if we dare to decide to be different in local taxation, I came to the inescapable conclusion that something just didn't add up.
I meandered down to the Department of Work and Pensions (well, the website) and had a wee nose about at the benefit claimant numbers. The latest ones available are for May 2007 - not the most recent figures, but exactly 10 years after Labour took power and before the policies of the SNP Scottish Government had time to have an effect.
So 10 years into an economic miracle, how is it that Scotland has almost 428,000 Housing Benefit recipients? That's 19% of all the households in Scotland.
How does anyone square that 'economic miracle' with the more than 533,000 Council Tax Benefit recipients? Almost a quarter of Scottish households can't afford to pay Council Tax.
Where is their economic miracle? Or does the economic miracle only count for the wealthy and the super-wealthy that Brown courts just as Blair did before him?
Ten years of failure as Chancellor, another year failing as Prime Minister - Gordon Brown is either just not cut out for the job or applies his energies in the service of those who don't really need any help from government. Either way he should go now.
After thinking about Gordon Brown's 'economic miracle' and the fuss Labour of London's making about refusing to pony up Scotland's money if we dare to decide to be different in local taxation, I came to the inescapable conclusion that something just didn't add up.
I meandered down to the Department of Work and Pensions (well, the website) and had a wee nose about at the benefit claimant numbers. The latest ones available are for May 2007 - not the most recent figures, but exactly 10 years after Labour took power and before the policies of the SNP Scottish Government had time to have an effect.
So 10 years into an economic miracle, how is it that Scotland has almost 428,000 Housing Benefit recipients? That's 19% of all the households in Scotland.How does anyone square that 'economic miracle' with the more than 533,000 Council Tax Benefit recipients? Almost a quarter of Scottish households can't afford to pay Council Tax.
Where is their economic miracle? Or does the economic miracle only count for the wealthy and the super-wealthy that Brown courts just as Blair did before him?
Ten years of failure as Chancellor, another year failing as Prime Minister - Gordon Brown is either just not cut out for the job or applies his energies in the service of those who don't really need any help from government. Either way he should go now.
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