Letter: Scots, English and a leap in the dark

Sir: In your report "Tories threaten to make the Scots pay up" (11 February) you refer to Conservative propaganda that there is more "identifiable" government spending per head in Scotland than in England, with the implication that this is some sort of "benefit" bestowed on the Scots by virtue of the Union.

A more accurate picture will be obtained if revenue raising is also considered. Last month the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, William Waldegrave, admitted in a parliamentary written answer that, taking oil revenues into account, Scotland has paid a massive pounds 27bn absolute surplus into the London Treasury since 1979. This the equivalent of pounds 5,400 for every person in Scotland.

JOE TAYLOR

Brighton, East Sussex