LOCH, STOCK AND BARREL

I have nothing personally against any particular Scottish person - in fact, some of my fondest memories are of notable Scots over the years. Perhaps the most notable was Chic Murray -("My parents didn`t understand me - they were Japanese!") and I have reason to be grateful to Gordon Strachan for giving Southampton FC some of the best years of their lives.

But I have noticed that the Scots seem to be taking over our lives down here in England. We have a Scottish Prime Minister, a Scottish Chancellor of the Exchequer, a Scottish Armed Forces Minister, a Scottish International Development Minister and countless others in various governmental posts up and down Whitehall. Perhaps the most striking of this tartan army is the Speaker of the House of Commons - one Michael Martin who supposedly presides over events in the mother of Parliaments.

No wonder Speaker Martin looks pleased with himself

Now, Scotland - like Wales and Northern Ireland - has its own devolved Parliament whereas we in England have no such luxury. And what expensive luxuries they are. The buildings, the elected representatives, their staff and support structures cost an absolute fortune and now in Scotland where the powers of the Scottish Parliament are greatest they introduce measures which benefit only their own constituents including, among other things, free student fees, free care for the elderly and, most recently, free prescriptions for everyone north of the border.

Don`t get me wrong - I don`t mind them doing all of that - good luck to them - but I get miffed when down here in England we are not only denied such facilities for ourselves but also we are paying for their privileges in Scotland through the block grant approved by the Scottish dominated UK government.

I promise I have not drifted into the politics of envy......just the politics of resentment and it`s about time someone in government did something about it. Oh, hang on a minute, they`re all Scottish, aren`t they?