If you want to live the life of Riley, go to Scotland. Money from England is just thrown at you at every point of your existence. Scotland receives around £45–50 billion per year via the Barnett formula block grant (for recent years like 2024/25–2025/26), with the latest 2025-26 figure reaching a £50 billion burden.
Public spending per head in Scotland is notably higher than in England (e.g., ~14% higher for identifiable expenditure in recent data).
Each person in Scotland receives around £2,400–£2,700 more in public spending per year than the average in England (latest 2024/25 figures).
Latest Official Figures (2024/25)
England: £13,134 per person
Scotland: £15,563 per person
Difference: £2,429 more per person in Scotland (about 18.5% higher than England)
University tuition is free for eligible Scottish-domiciled students (those ordinarily resident in Scotland) studying full-time undergraduate degrees in Scotland. Students from the rest of the UK (England, Wales, and Northern Ireland) pay full fees in Scotland, currently up to around £9,535 per year. International students pay much higher overseas fees (£10,000–£26,000+ per year depending on the course and university).
The latest Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) 2024-25 report shows that Universal Credit benefits payments are rising at exponential rates in Scotland. From £3.187 billion (2022-23) to £3.903 billion (2023-24) to £5.245 billion (2024-25). Some Scottish families on benefits can receive up to £67,000 per annum, not including free NHS care, housing, education, and a free top-of-the-range car.
This reflects higher caseloads, uprating for inflation, and the ongoing rollout/expansion of UC under the Labour government.
No doubt, with the amount of money thrown at the Scots, £400,000 was syphoned off by the Scottish National Party chairman and his wife, Nicola Sturgeon; the theft was hoped to be overlooked; however, a turn of bad luck caused the illicit activity to be uncovered. This is a tiny part of the endemic corruption and fraud that encapsulates a place where literally billions of English taxpayers’ money are thrown every year. No doubt, there is a lot more going on under the radar that will never come to light.
