Is it Time for Scots, English to File for Divorce:

By Matthew Lynn

Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Next year, England and Scotland will mark the 300th anniversary of the 1707 treaty that melded the two nations together.

What better way of celebrating that than by filing for divorce?

Far-fetched? The latest polls suggest there is growing support for a separation on both sides of the border.

The English and the Scots appear to be fed up with each other. And a split would be the best outcome for both countries. Scotland might take the chance to emulate the miraculous success of Ireland. England would be able to cut its taxes at a stroke. It might even get the Conservative government it voted for, rather than the Labour one the Scots wanted.

There is no doubt that there is now real momentum behind independence. ``Although Scottish independence in the foreseeable future is still unlikely, the chances that it might happen have risen from below 1 percent to perhaps 10 to 15 percent,'' Douglas McWilliams, chief executive of the Centre for Economic and Business Research in London, said in a recent report.

An ICM Ltd. poll in the Sunday Telegraph this month found that 52 percent of Scots supported full independence for their country. In September, a YouGov Ltd. poll showed 44 percent of Scots in favor of independence, compared with 42 percent against. The level of support had almost doubled since 2000. Meanwhile, the Scotsman newspaper reported this month that 51 percent of Scots favored full independence versus 39 percent against.

The English are even keener to get rid of the Scots. The ICM poll showed 59 percent of English voters supported the break-up of the union as well.

2007 Elections

``We are becoming Britain's Quebec,'' Stuart Thomson, a bond-fund manager at Resolution Investment Management in Glasgow, Scotland, said in a telephone interview. ``It is going to be a constant case of ``will they or won't they?'''

The crunch may come next year. Elections for the devolved Scottish Assembly are set for May 2007 -- and the pro- independence Scottish National Party may well emerge as the strongest grouping. If that happens, the momentum for a split would become unstoppable.

There would be nothing for either side to fear from that. In fact, both would be better off without each other.

It is a myth that countries need to be big to prosper. The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development last year counted only five countries as ``high income'' -- the U.S., Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland and Ireland. The U.S. is a big place, but the rest of them are pretty small. That still hasn't stopped any of them getting rich.

Irish Model

The list includes another small Celtic nation on the edge of Europe. Through a modest amount of deregulation and a lot of tax- cutting, Ireland has turned itself from a relative backwater into one of the most successful economies in Europe. It has long since stopped blaming its problems on the English, and set about creating a dynamic economy of its own.

Could Scotland follow in its tracks? It couldn't do much worse than it is now. The Scottish economy is a mess, dependent on a bloated public sector and showing few signs of life. ``If Scotland had simply matched the success of Ireland since 1997, our nation would now be 6,000 pounds a head better off,'' the Scottish National Party said in an analysis this month.

There are few more entrepreneurial people in the world than the Scots. Just take a look at the numbers of companies around the world with names starting with ``Mc'' or ``Mac.'' And if the birthplace of Adam Smith can't create a thriving free-market economy, then who can?

North Sea Oil

True, it wouldn't happen quickly. ``You had 70 years of pain in Ireland after independence,'' Thomson said. ``You probably wouldn't get that in Scotland, but it might be a long time before the economy started to flourish.''

And how about the English?

The accounts of the two countries are hard to disentangle. The U.K. government collects a lot of tax revenue from North Sea oil, and that presumably would have to go to the government in Edinburgh. The financial details of the separation would take a lot of haggling -- as they do in any divorce. Still, the chances are that the English would pay lower taxes as a stand-alone nation.

Most importantly, the English would get the kind of low-tax, free-market government they want. At the 2005 election, the Conservative Party won more votes in England than any other party. Many of the main figures in the Labour government are Scottish, including Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown. And they are kept in power by Scottish votes.

Better Off Apart

In reality, the political cultures of the two countries have drifted so far apart, they are no longer compatible. The Scots want a Scandinavian-style social democracy with high taxes, generous welfare and big government. In Scottish politics, there are virtually no right-of-center voters left. The Conservative Party won less than 16 percent of the vote in Scotland last year.

The English want a U.S.-style free market with lower taxes, and a smaller state. The only reason they can't have it is because of the Scots. That is hardly healthy.

As the divorce lawyers like to point out, once a relationship has broken down, you are better off apart. England and Scotland have reached that point. The 300th anniversary of the union should be the last.

Last Updated: November 28, 2006 19:03 EST

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The Christmas dinner conundrum

School in U-turn over halal Christmas meal

Published: Sunday, 19 November, 2006

(I copied this from the Gulf Times, Dubai) 

LONDON: A school proposing to offer pupils halal chicken for their Christmas lunch has been forced to provide a non-halal turkey alternative after a backlash from some parents, the Daily Telegraph reported yesterday.

Oakwood School in Rotherham, northern England, put the option on the menu to allow Muslim children to celebrate alongside other pupils.

But headmistress Jan Charters said concerns from a handful of parents had prompted her to offer a non-halal version as well, the paper reported.

"This was an attempt to extend the spirit of inclusion which would allow Muslim children to sit down and enjoy a meal together," she told the Daily Mail. "It is very frustrating that people find motives which are not present."

Pupils across Britain are offered a Christmas meal in the run-up to the festive season in December.

Around one in five students at Oakwood are of Asian origin.

The Telegraph quoted one parent, Rachel Johnson, saying: "Why can’t we have a choice of chicken which suits everyone, both Muslims and non-Muslims?

"We bend over backwards at Eid to eat traditional Muslim food, so why should we have to change our Christmas tradition?"

Consumption of blood is forbidden under Islamic law - halal meat comes from animals whose blood has drained away from the carcass. – AFP

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Demand for an Englishman’s place in the sun trebles

Published: Sunday, 19 November, 2006,

 LONDON: A place in the sun has never been so popular, research showed yesterday, with the number of overseas properties owned by UK households almost trebling in the past decade.

An estimated 300,000 overseas houses have been snapped up by Britons - a figure that has ballooned from just 102,000 in 1995, according to a study by business and financial adviser Grant Thornton.

It said there could be 1.3mn British nationals living in other countries by 2025, if a "gently rising" trend of those upping sticks to retire to sunnier climes continued.

Up to 10% of British homeowners could own a second home overseas within the next 20 years, up from a current 2%, the report said.

Maurice Fitzpatrick, a senior tax manager at Grant Thornton, said: "Any continued increase in overseas second home ownership is heavily dependent on the strength of the UK property market and the wealth it generates.

"It is this liquidity which influences people in taking the necessary steps to invest abroad.

"By 2025, this could mean that 1.5mn to 2mn households in the UK will own a property overseas - an amount which would equate to one-tenth of UK property owners."

Given the current level of interest rates and income, the research said, the UK housing market was set for another good year.

But it warned that the danger of a house price bubble in 2008-9 would hit demand for property abroad.

The analysis, conducted with Lombard Street Research, said overseas homeowners typically fell into two camps - pensioners who have their main residence abroad and affluent Britons who own a second property overseas as an investment or holiday home.

Demographic changes over the next 10 years could also boost demand, according to the research.

Some 70% of Britons who own a second home overseas fall into the over 45 age group - one that is set to grow significantly in the coming decade.

However, senior tax partner Mike Warburton warned would-be overseas house-hunters to beware the pitfalls - not least a string of tax implications.

"Thousands of UK nationals have been attracted by the lure of a warm climate, a cheap cost of living and easy access to a second home overseas," he said.

"However, it is all too easy to be seduced into the attractions ... and to ignore the perils.

"Contrary to popular belief, you are still subject to tax on your offshore income and capital gains if you are a UK resident and domiciled.

"And, if the UK tax system is not complicated enough, the purchaser of a property abroad has to cope with a local tax system that may be culturally dissimilar to our own."

(Unrest in the Empire -Pick up thy musket Sam?)

English tell Scots to go for independence

BRIAN BRADY

 WESTMINSTER EDITOR

ALMOST two-thirds of English voters want full independence for Scotland, a dramatic new poll revealed last night.

A clear majority on both sides of the Border are in favour of Scotland breaking away from the United Kingdom, according to the survey by ICM. It finds that 59% of English voters want Scotland to go it alone, while independence is backed by 52% of Scots.

There is also strong support in both nations for England breaking away completely from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - backed by 48% in England and 45% in Scotland.

Meanwhile, 68% of English voters and 58% of Scots back the lesser step of an English parliament, which would have similar powers to the Scottish parliament.

The poll, which supports the abolition of the Act of Union between England and Scotland as its 300th anniversary approaches, follows recent surveys in Scotland which have shown more than 50% in favour of independence.

It came as Chancellor Gordon Brown delivered an impassioned defence of the Union at Labour's Scottish conference in Oban. On Friday, Blair also warned of a "constitutional nightmare" if the SNP wins power in Edinburgh next May.

Yesterday, in a further attack on the SNP, against whom Labour will fight a bitter battle for control of the Holyrood parliament, the Chancellor claimed: "We should never let the Nationalists deceive people into believing that you can break up the United Kingdom."

But, seizing on the poll results, SNP leader Alex Salmond said: "There is a powerful pro-independence tide now flowing both north and south of the Border. Both countries now have majorities in favour of their own independence and independence for their neighbour.

"Scots are tired of remote control from London and the onset of devolution has made people realise that, since we have our own parliament, it is time we had one with real powers.

"In England people, quite rightly, resent Scottish MPs bossing them about on English domestic legislation. England has as much right to self-governance as Scotland does."

The ICM poll for the Sunday Telegraph shows that 60% of English voters agree, complaining that higher levels of public spending per head of the population in Scotland were "unjustified", with only 28% claiming they were justified. Among Scots, 36% said the current system was unfair, with 51% supporting it.

Ironically, only 21% of English voters said there were "too many Scots" in the Cabinet, with 76% saying this did not matter. Perhaps unsurprisingly, only 4% of Scots agreed that the number of their fellow countrymen in top government posts - who include Brown, John Reid, Alistair Darling, Lord Falconer and Douglas Alexander - was too high.

But voters had serious concerns about the so-called "West Lothian Question" - the ability of Scottish MPs at Westminster to vote on solely English matters while many purely Scottish issues are decided in Edinburgh. Almost two in three English voters (62% ) want Scottish MPs stripped of this right, as did 46% of Scots.

Reacting to the poll last night, the Chancellor said: "There is a debate to be had about the future of the United Kingdom, but I think when you look at the arguments, when you look at the family ties, the economic connections, the shared values, the history of our relationship which has lasted 300 years, people will decide we are stronger together and weaker apart."

A Scottish Labour Party spokesman added: "Our conference in Oban has shown the strong case for building on Labour's achievements within the UK rather than throwing it all away with the damaging nationalist policy of breaking up Britain."

Tory leader David Cameron also issued a robust defence of the Union saying it is "good for us all and we are stronger together than we are apart."

news.scotsman Last updated: 26-Nov-06 00:15 GMT

IS OUR WORLD CRUMBLING AROUND US.

Is nothing Sacred?

Burgers push pies off the shelf 

The demise of MEAT PIES!! The very stuff of empire. 

The Greenwich shop opened in 1952

A family business that has been serving traditional pie and mash in south-east London for more than 100 years is making way for a burger chain.

Brothers Jeff and Kane Goddard will serve their final meal at Goddards Pie House in Greenwich on Sunday.

The business was founded in 1890 by Alfred Goddard who opened the first shop in Deptford, south-east London.

Jeff, who has worked for the firm since he was 18, said it had been a hard and emotional decision.

Alfred passed the business to his sons Bob and George who opened the current shop in 1952 to coincide with the arrival of the Cutty Sark in dry dock.

In 1972 the Pie House was passed to Bob's eldest son Dave and wife Pam.

Their sons, Jeff and Kane, became regulars in the shop at weekends from the age of 10 and worked full time at 18.

The shop serves up the Cockney favourite, pie, mash and liquor. The liquor is a thick gravy made from parsley and water which is poured over the pie.

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Cardiff Family pie-maker marks 50 years 

(I can see that I will have to restrict my UK visits to Wales in future) 

Dennis Dutch has been making pies for 50 years

A pie-maker who holds the secret to one of Cardiff's best loved food specialities has celebrated 50 years of baking the famous Clarks Pie.

Dennis Dutch opened his Grangetown pie shop in 1955 at the age of 24 after working in his mother Winifred's Cowbridge Road East shop.

Dennis is the grandson of Mary Clark, who had perfected the recipe of her namesake pie in 1909.

And since opening his shop he has baked millions of the meat pies.

The pies have entered Cardiff folklore and they are often quoted to demonstrate the city's 'Kairdiff' accent - the dialect accentuating the hard sounding 'a'.

"My grandmother first started baking the pies in Llanmaes Street in 1909, then my parents opened the Cowbridge Road East shop during the war," said 74-year-old Dennis Dutch.

"Of course meat was on ration then, so the Llanmaes Street shop closed in 1941."

Dennis, who left school at the age of 14 to work in his parents' shop, began to dream about opening his own shop, and by the age of 24, after completing National Service, had saved enough money to buy the premises in Bromsgrove Street - just two streets from his grandmother's establishment.

"I came here in 1955 and to be honest on the day of opening I had no idea whether we were going to fail or not so we only baked a few pies for the opening day," he said. "But on the actual opening day, we were greeted by a queue of people waiting to buy a pie so we had to quickly bake some more".

The "Clarksie", which is still made in the Cowbridge Road East and Bromsgrove Street shops, is known for its thick pastry and meat filling.

Dennis' daughter Amanda Rosoman now works in the shop with her father and 13 staff. "People love them - I remember one man came down from London for the day for a football match and had a Clarks pie."  He called us up the next day asking if we delivered to London, so I found a refrigerated courier service and sent him the 40 pies he asked for - the delivery cost more than the pies but he still wanted them!

Customers include Cardiff City FC and people in Spain, Australia and South Africa.

BBC Wales radio presenter Frank Hennessy, who attended the 50th anniversary party, described it as an "institution".

"The theory has it that the design of Cardiff's Millennium Stadium was based on the Clarks Pie - because if you stick four cocktail sticks into the pie it does look like the stadium with the roof closed," he added.

So what is it about the recipe for the pie that people love?

"That's a secret," smiled Dennis.

Blair deputy's three-year affair exposed
By Michael Seamark
28apr06

BRITISH Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is fighting to save his job - and his marriage - after a

three-year fling with his blonde secretary was revealed.

Confronted by astonishingly indiscreet photos of him cavorting with 43-year-old Tracey Temple, Mr Prescott had no option but to confirm the torrid romance. "I did have a relationship with her, which I regret," he said. "It ended some time ago. I have discussed this fully with my wife Pauline, who is devastated." Mr Prescott, 67, was at home with his wife trying to hold together their battered 44-year marriage.

Equally stunned was truck driver Barrie Williams, 46, who lives with divorcee Ms Temple. "I feel sick," he said. "I can't believe the woman I wanted to marry slept with John Prescott. I've been betrayed by one of the most powerful men in the UK." According to Mr Williams, the affair began in 2002 - at an office Christmas party. Precisely when it ended remains unclear. Mr Williams said his suspicions were aroused this month when he sneaked downstairs while his girlfriend was asleep and found suspicious text messages on her mobile phone.

What is clear is that the relationship between "The Boss" or "DPM", as Ms Temple described him, moved quickly from that of politician and "assistant private secretary, diary manager", to secret lovers.

Ms Temple joined the civil service 20 years ago, working her way up from secretary. As diary ecretary for Mr Prescott, she moved within the heart of Government, meeting Prime Minister Tony Blair and attending ministerial drinks parties.

At Christmas 2002, Mr Prescott made a beeline for his secretary, who was in a revealing low-cut black

cocktail dress, buttoned up at the back. He jokingly lifted her skirt, apparently to see if Ms Temple was

wearing stockings. The couple had eyes only for each other, dancing the night away and apparently, after many drinks, confessing their true feelings for one another.

After the party, some of the staff went back to Mr Prescott's Admiralty House flat and his secretary was eventually given a lift back to her hotel in the early hours of the morning.

The next day he hosted drinks in his office for ministers, dignitaries and senior police Staff looked on astonished as Mr Prescott and Ms Temple lay on the office lounge, openly cuddling each other.

A female colleague said she saw the secretary "nuzzle" his neck in a lift.

Conveniently for Mr Prescott, he had the perfect venue for the romance - his lavish grace-and-favour flat in the 18th-century Admiralty House. The couple met there regularly. By now staff in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister were becoming convinced of an affair.

At the height of their affair, Mr Prescott and his mistress stood together on the steps of St Paul's

Cathedral as the nation honoured British troops killed in Iraq.

The ceremony in October 2003, attended by the Queen, was ample proof of the astonishing risks the

Deputy PM was prepared to take.

Westminster sources said Ms Temple spent much of the 2005 general election campaign on Mr Prescott's battle bus. Despite his claim the affair ended some time ago, she "recently" spent time alone with him at his country retreat in Buckinghamshire.

Tory MP's called on Mr Prescott to quit. They want an investigation into whether he wasted taxpayers' money on entertaining his lover at his residences, and whether she used his ministerial car.

Mr Prescott's fall from gra