Are English people treated worse than the rest of the UK?

[Haruka]

Not a goady thread, I am foreign-born and reading the new rules on bus passes today has once again thrown up this question for me. Perhaps there are other systems in place and someone can shine a light on this and educate me.

But why is it that English people seem to constantly have worse conditions than the rest of Britain, and are we thus subsidising the other nations?

• Bus passes: new rules will link eligibility in England to state pension age, while old people in Scotland and Wales will remain eligible from age 60
• University fees: no tuition fees for Scots, but the other nations pay fees of almost 10k.
• No prescription charges in Wales or Scotland, but English people pay £9.90 per item. We all use the NHS.

I'm sure there are more. I do not mean to insult anyone; these are just current rules. So why is it that in all 3 examples the English are worst off? Do people in the other nations pay more through taxes?

Sorry, I forgot to disable the poll. I am simply after information.

The income tax rate in Scotland is higher than the rate in England

Yep - true. Although living in Scotland must be very cold, so they have extra heating bills.

Its up to the individual nations what they spend on public services- read up on devolution and the Barnett formula, OP.

England could offer all the same things but doesn’t because it has made different spending decisions. It’s not directly to do with Scotland charging more income tax as Wales doesn’t.

I suspect it's because of the difference in population size. England is 58.6m, Scotland 5.5, Wales 3.1 and NI 1.9.

When you have a larger population costs rise e.g. crime rates and road maintenance, etc. The overcrowding can impact quality of life and therefore more social problems. So less money to spend on things like free tuition.

This.

Londoners and Liverpudlians get free travel (with some exceptions) at 60.

Was just going to say the Barnett formula, last time I read it was about 7k per head in England £¥k in Wales and 11k in Scotland. This is money from the government. It was a rough formula brought in about 1970s I struggle to see the fairness tbh

Spot on. This is why is so frustrating some do not get the perils of the immigration problem.

It's democracy.

The other nations vote differently.

Scottish Government tends to be quite left leaning, so there is more universal provision, like free prescriptions. That's what people in Scotland voted for, and accept paying more tax.

I agree. That needs changing.

You've got a whole internet to find information but the short answer is

You get what you vote for
Yes, Scotland pays more taxes, at least some of us do.

I can’t speak for Scotland, but Wales has a more progressive government than the UK government, in my opinion. Hopefully this will continue after the elections next year.

The entire point of devolution was to give the people of Wales a better deal through having more control over decisions that affect us, as we felt relentlessly shafted by the UK Government. They exist to try to make things better or more relevant for the people of Wales (whether every decision they make is correct is not the point).

because English people consistently voted for a conservative government while the other nations consistently elected other parties to govern. Different political parties have different priorities eg free prescriptions and car parking at hospitals, or free university education - plus it’s a political game to outshine England where we can.

rather than “England subsidising the other nations” it’s more accurate to say that the more economically productive parts of the UK (mainly London and the South East of England) generate a surplus that’s redistributed across the whole UK - including parts of northern England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

No prescription charges in Wales or Scotland, but English people pay £9.90 per item. We all use the NHS.

It’s not the same NHS though. NHS England is different to that NHS Wales and NHS Scotland and service levels and approach to commissioning aren’t necessarily comparable. Waiting lists in Wales are higher for example than England.

Scottish people pay more taxes

crimes rates don’t rise with population- absolute values may do but most things the rates stay the same meaning the cost per head of pot hole repair and prisons stays the same

having high population density can make it easier to provide services like take away deliveries , health services ,public transport - just compare the public transport of London to the rest of the uk - although the extra ~£1000 per head for public transport in London does help - that’s not in Bartlett ao just a wee hint to not cherry pick your facts

The population of Wales is older, and has more sick people, also delivering services to rural areas costs more per head.

Additionally the majority of people in England are exempt from prescription charges for one reason or another.

”95.08% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge, with a total of approximately 60% of the population being exempt from paying” HofL.

So in reality whilst there is a charge most people don’t pay it.

We might have free prescriptions in Wales but our NHS waiting times are worse. Same with the free bus passes, great but public transport is a shambles.

It really isn't fair but I blaythe Barnett formula for giving Scots far more per person. It should be changed.

Because England mostly votes in tory governments unlike Scotland and Wales.
Broadly speaking, right wing politics focus on individual wealth and left wing focus on social equality.
I say broadly speaking because the current labour government attacked the winter fuel allowance and disability benefits in a way that does not reflect usual left wing values.
I think the left flourishes in Scotland and Wales due to an ingrained collective memory of being the oppressed whilst England, being the oppressors, doesn’t have that memory.

And worse educational outcomes.

The benefits bill is unsustainable. Left wing or right wing the government needs to do something about it.

Loads of pensioners do not need their WFA. It is used on holidays or gin!

edited for a mad typo!

Because the English have chosen a right wing government, whereas Wales and Scoland have been more left leaning. Left wing government's provide better public services, for a higher tax. Whereas Right Wing government's except individuals to pay for their own services.
Reform and the Tories aim to remove the NHS entirely.
As for using Bartlett as example, it completely ignores the amount spent per head in the South East of the UK compared to the rest of the country in public money on infrastructure.

I think public transport outside of major cities is a shambles in general, @xanthomelana .

Thank you for your responses so far; I will look up the Barnett formula. So the NHS is different in different countries? Does funding not still come from a central body?

It is also interesting that numbers for free presciptions are so high in England. I mean yes, children get free prescriptions, as do OAPs, and I suspect that they make up a high amount of people needing prescriptions. I remember needing monthly medication and at one point I had to stop taking it, because I could not afford even that £9 a month, but I still was not eligible then.

I was lucky to do my degree here when tuition fees were still low, but my children are now at an age where university is fast approaching, and I dread the thought of them having to start life with almost 100k debt.