
Times letters: Fallout from Starmer's immigration proposals
Sir, The government's proposal to introduce a levy of 6 per cent on foreign students is a bad copy of President Trump's chaotic trade wars ('Migration plan to curb 100,000 arrivals a year', May 13). The main difference is that rather than imposing tariffs on imports, the Home Office wants to impose shocking tariffs on our most successful export-related product: university education. Whether British universities directly pay this ill-advised tariff or pass it on to foreign students is irrelevant. University finances will suffer an enormous blow and academic job losses will intensify, while calls for bailing out our university sector will grow louder.Professor Costas MilasUniversity of Liverpool
Sir, Physicists will have smiled at Rhys Blakely's description of Cern's
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The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
JK Rowling reignites row with Nicola Sturgeon in foul-mouthed ‘review' of her memoir
JK Rowling has reignited her feud with Nicola Sturgeon as she blasted her new autobiography in a 'review' posted on social media. The author and gender critical activist posted a picture of scribbled-on pages of ' Frankly ', which was released this week, on X in a continuation of their long-standing clash over the issue of transgender rights. On one page, she scrawled 'Are you f***ing kidding me???' over a page where she accused Ms Sturgeon of 'opining on the need to make the 'public sphere' safe for women and girls'. It comes after years of tension between the pair during heated rows over Scotland's approach to trans rights. In a post on X, Ms Rowling wrote: 'Annotating as I read to review. Might auction my scribbled-on copy, proceeds to go to @ForWomenScot. NB: nobody who's offended by swearing should bid.' While in office, the former first minister doggedly attempted to push through legislation creating a self-identification system for people who want to change gender, which was eventually blocked by the UK government. The ensuing debate partly led to her resignation as first minister in February 2023. Following the proposed reforms in 2022, Ms Rowling wore a t-shirt calling Sturgeon a 'destroyer of women's rights'. Ms Sturgeon later called for both sides of the debate to 'treat each other with respect'. In her book she recalled the incident, after which she received a barrage of abuse, writing: 'It was deeply ironic that those who subjected me to this level of hatred and misogynistic abuse often claimed to be doing so in the interests of women's safety.' They have clashed on a number of other occasions, including after the Supreme Court judgement in April that the legal definition of a woman refers to biological sex. Ms Sturgeon refused to comment on the decision, with Ms Rowling later sharing a social media post including a photograph of the SNP leader in the gym branding her 'Pontius Pilates', an apparent biblical reference accusing her of shirking responsibility. Speaking about the trans rights row that dominated her final few months in office in her memoir, Ms Sturgeon called it a time of 'division and rancour'. She added that while she respected legitimate concerns about women's spaces, the debate had been 'hijacked by voices on the far right'. 'The inconvenient truth', she argued, is that 'many of the most vocal deriders of trans rights, when the surface is scratched, turn out to be raging homophobes too. Some are also racists. And ironically ... more than a few are also deeply misogynist.' However, she said she would have changed her approach to the issue with hindsight, and that while she still believes in the gender recognition reforms, she wishes she had aimed for more of a consensus on the issue.


The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
Scotland's deficit grows by £5.1bn, Gers figures show
Scotland's Finance Secretary has insisted the country's finances are 'sustainable' as figures showed spending levels were more than £26 billion higher than the amount raised in revenues. The latest Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (Gers) figures reported 'overall public finances in Scotland weakening, as expenditure grew faster than revenue'. For 2024-25, Scotland has a net fiscal deficit of minus £26.5 billion – an increase of £5.1 billion from the previous year – with this the representing minus 11.7% of the country's GDP. The UK deficit for 2024-25 was minus 5.1% of GDP, less than half the rate of Scotland. The Scottish Government report said the 'deterioration' between this year and last was in part linked to a fall in North Sea revenue, but it added: 'The difference is primarily explained by movements in non-North Sea revenue and spending, with Scottish revenue growing more slowly and Scottish expenditure growing more quickly than the UK.' Revenue in Scotland grew by 1.5% in 2024-25 to £91.4 billion. Spending increased to £117.6 billion in 2024-25, up from £111.4 billion in 2023-24. 'As a share of GDP, public spending remained at historically high levels in 2024,' the report noted. Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said the figures show Scots benefit from higher public spending than the UK average – with this £2,669 more per person north of the border. He said this 'means more money for schools, hospitals and policing, if the Scottish Parliament chooses to invest in those areas' – although he also claimed 'people in Scotland will rightly expect to see better outcomes' for these higher spending levels. Mr Murray said: 'These figures underline the collective economic strength of the United Kingdom and how Scotland benefits from the redistribution of wealth inside the UK. 'By sharing resources with each other across the UK, Scots benefit by £2,669 more per head in public spending than the UK average. 'It also means that devolved governments have the financial heft of the wider UK behind them when taking decisions.' Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison said decisions taken by ministers at Holyrood 'are helping support sustainable public finances'. She said: 'For the fourth year in a row, devolved revenues have grown faster than devolved expenditure. 'Scotland's public finances are better than many other parts of the UK, with the third highest revenue per person in the UK, behind only London and the South East.' She also stressed the Gers statistics reflect the current constitutional arrangements, with Scotland part of the UK and 'not an independent Scotland with its own policy, decisions on defence spending and the economy'. Ms Robison said: 'Gers allocates Scotland a population share of reserved UK spending rather than accounting for real expenditure. For example, UK defence expenditure is listed as £5.1 billion, but only £2.1 billion was actually spent with industry in Scotland in 2023-24. 'Being taken out of the EU, against the will of the people of Scotland, has also hit Scotland's revenues by £2.3 billion and the higher cost of UK Government debt adds £500 million to the deficit. 'Falling oil prices and a decrease in extraction present challenges going forward, but we are clear in our support for a just transition for Scotland's valued oil and gas sector, which recognises the maturity of the North Sea basin and is in line with our climate change commitments and energy security.'


BBC News
10 minutes ago
- BBC News
Scottish public spending deficit grows as oil revenue drops again
Scotland's public spending deficit has increased, with North Sea oil and gas revenue falling for the second year in a row, official figures latest annual Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (Gers) report looks at taxes raised from people and businesses in Scotland and government spending for and on behalf of found the difference in 2024-25 was £26.5bn, which was up from £21.4bn in the previous financal amount of money spent on public services and benefits in Scotland last year was nearly £2,700 higher per person than it was for the UK as a whole. The total spending by Scottish, Westminster and local governments in Scotland - as well as a share of spending on shared provision such as defence and debt - came to £ the revenue raised from Scots totalled £91.4bn - reflecting a reduction in tax revenue last year from oil and gas a share of all the output from the economy, that takes the deficit if Scotland had separate public finances to 11.7%, while the equivalent figure for the UK was 5.1% What is Gers? Gers is a National Statistics publication and is prepared by Scottish government officials independently of estimates the amount of revenue raised through tax collected from people living in Scotland by both the Scottish and UK governments, and the amount that is spent by governments in and for includes reserved spending such as the state pension, devolved spending such as the health service, and a share of spending that may take place in the rest of the UK or overseas on behalf of Scots, such as the armed forces and UK difference between revenue and spending is called the "net fiscal balance" - commonly referred to as the deficit.