Scottish mafia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Scottish mafia, or Scottish Raj[1], refers to a group of Scottish politicians and broadcasters who are seen as having undue influence over the government of the United Kingdom and in particular of England. The term has been widely used in the UK press[2][3] and in parliamentary debates.[4][5]
References to a Scottish mafia are based on the perceived over-representation of Scottish MPs in senior government posts and on the constitutional arrangements which give them a say in English affairs whilst denying English MPs a say in Scottish affairs. The latter is an example of the West Lothian question.
As of October 2006, seven of the twenty-three Cabinet members are Scottish or were born in Scotland:[6]
- Prime Minister Tony Blair (although he represents an English constituency (Sedgefield), is generally thought of as English, and self-identifies as English[7], despite being born and schooled in Edinburgh)
- Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown
- Home Secretary John Reid
- Defence Secretary Des Browne
- Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer
- Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling
- Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander
This represents 30% of the UK Cabinet, while the Scottish population represents less than 10% of the UK.
Other prominent Scottish Labour cabinet members since 1997 include Robin Cook, George Robertson, Helen Liddell, Donald Dewar, Lord Irvine, David Clark, Gavin Strang and Ian McCartney. Michael Martin is also prominent as Speaker of the House of Commons.
Scottish broadcasters who cover the UK political scene include Kirsty Wark, James Naughtie, Andrew Marr and Andrew Neil.
The Scottish Mafia is not to be confused with the Scottish Mob criminal gangs.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Paxman blasts Scottish Raj, The Sunday Times, 13 March 2005
- ^ Jack, Ian. "Border disputes", The Guardian, Guardian Newspapers Limited, 15 July 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-02.
- ^ Johnson, Boris. "There's nothing national about the National Health", The Daily Telegraph, Telegraph Group Limted, 31 August 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-02.
- ^ Parliamentary Debates, House of Lords, 12 February 2004, column GC571
- ^ Parliamentary Debates, House of Lords, 7 July 1977, column 523
- ^ Her Majesty's Government. 10 Downing Street. Retrieved on 2006-10-02.
- ^ Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons, 12 January 2000, column 271
