| W.E.U Admin | W.E.U Campaigns
TAGS: Funding, WEU Campaign, Workplace Fairness, Taxpayers
Campaign Focus: Addressing funding imbalances and ensuring equitable treatment for the taxpayers in England.
The Barnett Formula, introduced in the 1970s as a stopgap, now locks in unfair public spending levels across the UK, allocating significantly ‘more per head’ to Scotland (£2,217), Northern Ireland (£2,605), and Wales (£1,598) than to England!!
This means that the taxpayers in England, despite receiving the lowest spend per head, still fund major infrastructure like Heathrow Airport, used by the whole UK, while subsidising better-funded public services elsewhere, such as free university tuition and prescriptions in Scotland.
It’s an outdated, unjust system that penalises England and must be replaced with a fair, needs-based funding model for the whole country. The most recent government data (2023‑24) shows that public spending per person in England was £12,625, which is significantly lower than in the devolved nations: Scotland £14,759, Wales £14,424, and Northern Ireland £15,371. Which essentially means England received between £1,799 and £2,746 less per person than the devolved nations.
It’s unjust that people in England receive significantly less per head yet still effectively subsidise richer public services in other nations via the same UK Treasury. Creating an outdated imbalance that calls for replacement with a fair, needs‑based funding system treating all UK residents equitably.
Key Articles:
- 14/07/2025 – Why the WEU Campaigns to Abolish the Barnett Formula
- 25/04/2025 – ‘Truly Unfair’: The True Cost of Prescription Charges in England
This Article is Tagged under:
Funding, WEU Campaign, Workplace Fairness, Taxpayers
