Devolved English parliament
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A devolved English Parliament, giving separate decision-making powers to representatives for voters in England similar to the representation given by the National Assembly for Wales, Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly, is currently an issue in the politics of the United Kingdom. The Campaign for an English Parliament is a pressure group that are lobbying for this.
A January 2007 poll of 1,953 British respondents found 61% support among the English for a parliament of their own, with 51% of Scots and 48% of Welsh people favouring the same.[1][2] An earlier ICM poll of 869 English people in November 2006 produced a slightly higher majority of 68% backing such a body.[3][4][5][6]
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[edit] History
The first English Parliament arose during the 13th century, comprising members of the nobility and clergy, and representatives from shires and boroughs. It developed a bicameral arrangement with an upper House of Lords for the nobility and clergy, and a lower House of Commons for the shires and boroughs. The powers of the parliament were fairly great: the king could not institute a new law or tax without its consent.
The Laws in Wales Acts passed in 1536 and 1543, incorporating Wales into England. Previously, not all members were English by birth (notably Simon de Montfort), or had solely English concerns, but now, members could be elected by, and for, people who were not English. The parliament convened in 1542 had twenty-seven elected Welsh members in the House of Commons.
The English Parliament was dissolved (and the Parliament of Scotland with it) by the Treaty of Union in 1707, and replaced with the Parliament of Great Britain. In practice, however, this was a continuation of the English Parliament - it met in the same place, had the same traditions, usages, and officers, and English members comprised an overwhelming majority.
[edit] Devolution and the West Lothian question
Following the first elections to the newly created Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly in 1999, England was left as the only country in the United Kingdom with no separate representative body, although the Northern Ireland Assembly has been subject to periods of suspension. The West Lothian question which was posed by the Scottish MP Tam Dalyell in the 1970s is wide open:
| “ | If power over Scottish affairs is devolved to a Scottish Parliament, how can it be right that MPs representing Scottish constituencies in the Parliament of the United Kingdom still have the power to vote on equivalent issues affecting England and other parts of the UK, but not Scotland? | ” |
Although the Welsh Assembly has no primary legislative powers, there is a chance the introduction of an English Parliament would result in the Assembly gaining legislative competence and becoming a Welsh Parliament. Of the mainstream political parties in Wales, only Plaid Cymru (which wants outright independence) and the Liberal Democrats support this. Scotland and Northern Ireland already have separate legal systems and laws, so the delegation of legislative authority does not cause any such issues.
[edit] Proposals
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (October 2007) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
Consequently, some have advocated a new devolved English Parliament, entirely separate from the Parliament of the United Kingdom, to counteract what they see as a democratic imbalance. Provision for such body existed in Tony Benn's defeated Commonwealth of Britain Bill.
[edit] The English Grand Committee
Alternatively, some would have this parliament take the form of an English Grand Committee in the United Kingdom House of Commons rather than as a new body with separate elections, while some see it as replacing the House of Commons, with a reformed House of Lords being the sole UK chamber.
One issue with the English Grand Committee proposal is that it would be problematic to have an England-specific executive despite the fact that an integral part of both the UK system and the systems adopted in Scotland and Wales is the presence of an executive, drawn largely if not fully from and accountable to the legislature. Specifically, under the Westminster system MPs collectively possess the power to compel the executive to either resign or dissolve parliament and call new elections, so if a separate English executive existed under the English Grand Committee system then it could not be held fully accountable to an English Grand Committee whose members are returned in the same elections as those to the UK's parliament unless the English executive had the ability to advise the Sovereign to dissolve Parliament after a non-confidence vote. This would effectively give English MPs the collective power to force the dissolution of the entire UK parliament, or at least to force new elections in 529 of the 646 constituencies. Either way, since the UK government relies on the support of the same MPs for its own survival it might effectively find itself in the position of having to secure majorities from both England itself and the whole UK, compromising its ability to govern in the interests of the UK.
If it was decided that the English executive would not have the ability to advise the Sovereign to dissolve Parliament, then the only way it could be at all accountable under the British system would be for it to resign after each non-confidence vote. Dissolutions of parliament after non-confidence votes are preferred because often there is no viable replacement for the outgoing executive in the existing parliament. In addition, an English executive would effectively be accountable to the UK executive since the latter might simply advise the Sovereign to dissolve parliament if it objected to what the English executive was doing. In a closely-contested general election the situation might arise where one party or group secures a UK majority but its opponents secure a majority in England. In such a situation any executive which had the support of the English Grand Committee might find it difficult if not impossible to work with the executive representing the whole UK.
On the other hand, adopting an English Grand Committee system without an English executive leaves England without one of the key components of a devolved government and would effectively force the English Grand Committee to rely on the UK executive for the performance of key functions. For example, in Westminster it is highly difficult and often impossible to introduce a bill without the executive's support. The UK executive might theoretically refuse to introduce an England-specific bill that a majority in the English Grand Committee would support and (albeit so long as this executive at least enjoyed a substantial minority of support for its decision amongst English MPs) the English Grand Committee would be unable to compel them to co-operate.
For these and other reasons, pro-devolution groups such as the English Democrats strongly oppose any sort of English Grand Committee system.
[edit] Activity
There are currently several groups working to raise this issue of a Devolved English Parliament, including the Campaign for an English Parliament and the English Constitutional Convention. Also, the English Democrats Party supports the creation of an English parliament, although they have achieved limited success at the polls as of 2007.
[edit] Regions of England
The Labour government favoured devolution to nine regions within England, claiming that it is too populous (with over 80% of the UK's population) to be governed as a subnational entity. A London Assembly was established on 3 July 2000, after a referendum in which 72% of those voting supported the creation of the Greater London Authority, which included the Assembly along with the Mayor of London. But Greater London is seen as a special case, and such a high level of public support is atypical. In all other regions, notably the South West England and South East England, there is little interest. Growing support for the assemblies was thought to be present in the north of England, but a referendum to establish a regional assembly for North East England on November 4, 2004 was defeated by a majority of 78% against. Further referenda in the other regions, notably those planned for Yorkshire and the Humber and North West England have been abandoned.
[edit] The Cornish question
In Cornwall there has been a campaign since 1998 for a devolved Cornish Assembly, along the lines of the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly, which would operate independently of Westminster. In 2001 Cornwall demonstrated the largest expression of popular support for devolved power in the whole of the United Kingdom and possibly Europe when a 50,000 petition for a Cornish Assembly was handed to the government.[7] The petition had the support of all five Cornish Lib Dem MPs, Cornwall Council and most independent councillors. Cornish nationalists argue that the 'Cornish question' should not be overlooked and that any new constitutional arrangements involving a devolved English parliament would have to take into account Cornwall's nationhood. In 1998 Cornwall had been recognised by the UK Government as having "distinct cultural and historical factors reflecting a Celtic background"[8] and in a 2004 poll 44% of those asked in Cornwall said they felt Cornish, rather than English or British[9].On 8th May 1990, The Guardian newspaper editorial commented - “Smaller minorities also have equally proud visions of themselves as irreducibly Welsh, Irish, Manx or Cornish. These identities are distinctly national in ways which proud people from Yorkshire, much less proud people from Berkshire will never know. Any new constitutional settlement which ignores these factors will be built on uneven ground.”
[edit] References
- ^ Most 'support English parliament'. BBC (January 8, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-01-16.
- ^ Newsnight Act of Union poll.
- ^ Britain wants UK break up, poll shows. Telegraph (November 27, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
- ^ 68 per cent of English want independence from Scotland. This Is London (November 26, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
- ^ English tell Scots to go for independence. Scotland on Sunday (November 26, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
- ^ Poll says majority of British voters support independence for Scotland. International Herald Tribune (November 26, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
- ^ BBC News 2001 - 50,000 declarations calling for a Cornish assembly
- ^ Hansard 1998 - Cornwall has distinct cultural and historical factors reflecting a Celtic background
- ^ BBC News 2004
