"The system for allocating public expenditure to the nations and regions of the UK has never worked properly since the Union of 1707, when Scotland's compensation for joining the Union arrived in Edinburgh in carts guarded by dragoons. The Fiscal Crisis of the United Kingdom suggests how the system could be fixed, drawing lessons from Australia and Canada. It recommends a politician-proof Territorial Grants Commission on Australian lines, to follow the successful depoliticisation of monetary policy in the UK."--Jacket.