Scots plan raid across border to grab Berwick

Feb 12 2008 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

SCOTTISH politicians are aiming to take advantage of disenchantment among voters in Berwick by launching an audacious land-grab for the town.

The Northumberland town, which is just a mile from the Scottish border, changed hands between the two countries at least 13 times between 1296 and 1482.

Now a member of the Scottish Parliament has laid down a motion calling for Berwick to become part of her country – and received some backing on the banks of the Tweed.

Civic leaders in Berwick say years of under-investment has left many people looking with envy at their counterparts across the border as they enjoy free universities and care for the elderly, as well as better public transport.

Christine Grahame, the Nationalist MSP whose motion at the Scottish Parliament calls on ministers to “begin negotiations with HM Government to secure Berwick-upon-Tweed’s restoration as part of the nation of Scotland”, says there are strong levels of support in the town for such a move.

And Berwick Council leader Elizabeth Hunter said the Westminster Government only had itself to blame for the increasingly pro-Scottish sentiments in the area.

She said: “We feel we’re a bit unloved up here. There is a feeling that the Scots are better off, and I am not alone.

“My 91-year-old mother lives in Berwick and has to pay for care. That would be free in Scotland.

“And I’m paying thousands of pounds for my daughter’s university education.

“At the same time, transport links are bad and people pay for their water on top of their council tax, which Scots don’t.”

Calls to place the district under Scottish control have been backed by Borders Council leader David Parker.

He said: “I’m certainly not against any suggestion and it would certainly not be impossible.

“There are actually not too many constitutional issues, a few things to iron out maybe, but there is nothing really getting in the way of at least an administrative change.

“We know from back when the North East was discussing having a regional assembly that people in Berwick were actually questioning why they cannot just vote to become part of Scotland.”

Berwick-born Liberal Democrat MSP Jeremy Purvis has been working with Berwick MP Alan Beith on ways to improve cross-border co-operation, a position he says the two politicians have had to take to counteract the “neglect” shown by Westminster.

Mr Purvis said: “There will be people looking across the border and seeing the benefits enjoyed there and they will rightly question why they miss out.

“Berwick is a greater distance from London than from Edinburgh and there would be many positive changes for people in Berwick.” But Mr Beith said the options for the town were limited.

He said: “Feelings are being inflamed by the fact that we have so much less money for public services than communities on the other side of the border.

“The Government’s failure to deal with the Barnett Formula has produced a great deal of resentment, and now the Government is refusing even to finance arrangements for pensioners’ bus passes to be used across the border.

“Moving the border is not a very realistic option and would take massive negotiation and legal change, so the urgent thing is to give people in north Northumberland services comparable to those in Scotland.”

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TV programme will reveal poll outcome

VOTES have been cast in a poll aimed at discovering whether people in Berwick would like to end more than 500 years of tradition and switch from being English to Scottish.

Public opinion has been put to the test in a referendum-style poll carried out for the ITV Tonight programme, the result of which will be revealed later this month.

A similar poll carried out 10 years ago showed just 51% of respondents in favour of staying English, but since then support for a switch to Scotland is almost certain to have grown. The Tonight programme will be screened on February 25.