West Lothian question

"English question" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Condition of England question.
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The West Lothian question,[1] also known as the English question,[2] refers to whether MPs from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, sitting in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, should be able to vote on matters that affect only England, while MPs from England are unable to vote on matters that have been devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly.

The term was coined by Enoch Powell MP in 1977 after Tam Dalyell, Labour MP for the Scottish constituency of West Lothian, raised the matter repeatedly in a House of Commons debate on Scottish and Welsh devolution, as he would continue to do through the 1970s and 1980s.[3][4] Since the establishment of Welsh and Northern Irish Assemblies and the Scottish Parliament in the 1990s, the question took on a new urgency and in 2011 the Government of the United Kingdom set up a commission to examine it.[5] The Commission on the consequences of devolution for the House of Commons, chaired by former Clerk of the House of Commons Sir William McKay, published a report in 2013 which proposed various procedural changes, including that legislation which affects only England should require the support of a majority of MPs representing English constituencies.[6][7]

The West Lothian question has again come to the fore following promises of greater devolution for Scotland made during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum campaign and subsequently recommended in the report published by the Smith Commission in November 2014. The idea of "English votes for English laws" (EVEL) has been suggested by Conservative Party politicians as a potential solution.[1]

Background

The underlying constitutional issue was raised by William Gladstone in 1886. During his speech on the first Irish Home Rule bill in 1886 he said:

If Ireland is to have domestic legislation for Irish affairs they cannot come here for English or Scottish affairs.[8]

The "West Lothian Question" itself was first posed in 1977 during a British House of Commons debate about Scottish and Welsh devolution proposals. In the 14th November sitting, Tam Dalyell, the Labour MP for the Scottish constituency of West Lothian, asked,

For how long will English constituencies and English Honourable members tolerate ... at least 119 Honourable Members from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland exercising an important, and probably often decisive, effect on English politics while they themselves have no say in the same matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?[9]
To illustrate his point he chose the example of a member of parliament for West Lothian who could vote on matters affecting the English town of Blackburn, Lancashire, but not on matters concerning Blackburn, West Lothian in his own constituency. The name "West Lothian question" was later coined by the Ulster Unionist MP Enoch Powell in a response to Dalyell's speech, when he said "We have finally grasped what the Honourable Member for West Lothian is getting at. Let us call it the West Lothian question."[10]

Today, the question is more commonly assumed to challenge the fact that Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland members at Westminster can vote upon English matters, while MPs for English constituencies have no influence on Scottish, Welsh or Northern Ireland affairs which are devolved to their decision-making bodies.[11]

Dalyell was a vocal opponent of Scottish devolution in the 1979 and 1997 plebiscites. A devolved Scottish Parliament was created in 1999 after a clear majority voted in favour of devolution in the second referendum.

In establishing foundation hospitals and agreeing student tuition fees – both controversial policies which do not affect Scotland – Scottish votes were decisive in getting the measures through.[12] The vote on foundation hospitals in November 2003 only applied to England – had the vote been restricted to English MPs then the government would have been defeated.[13] Had there been a vote by English MPs only on tuition fees in January 2004, the government would have lost because of a rebellion on their own benches.[14] Students at English universities are required to pay top-up fees, but students from Scotland attending Scottish universities are not. The legislation imposing top-up fees on students in England passed by a small majority of 316 to 311. At the time, the shadow education secretary Tim Yeo argued that this low majority made the passing of the law "completely wrong" due to Scottish MPs voting to introduce tuition fees that Scottish students attending university in Scotland would not have to pay.[15][16] A small part of the bill did relate directly to Scotland.[17]

The situation since the Scotland Act of 1998

Executive power hierarchy

The Scottish Parliament was formed by statute, the Scotland Act 1998, and is thus a creation of Westminster. No sovereign status on the Scottish Parliament is conferred, and the act has not changed the status of the Westminster Parliament as the supreme legislature of Scotland, with Westminster retaining the ability to override, or veto, any decisions taken by the Scottish Parliament. The Westminster Parliament remains the sovereign body; power is devolved rather than transferred to the Scottish Parliament.

As a consequence, the ability of all Westminster MPs to vote on Scottish legislation has not been legally diminished by devolution, as made clear by Section 28(7) of the Scotland Act 1998, which states that the legislative powers of the Scottish Parliament do "...not affect the power of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to make laws for Scotland".[18]

During devolution, a convention was created to manage the power of Westminster to legislate on matters within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament. This is known as the Sewel Convention, and the related Scottish parliamentary motions are now known as Legislative Consent Motions (previously Sewel Motions).[19] These motions (of which there are around a dozen per year) allow MPs to vote on issues, which among other things, are within the Scottish Parliament's legislative competence. The Sewel Convention states that the Westminster Parliament will not normally legislate on devolved matters in Scotland without first obtaining the consent of the Scottish Parliament.

Reserved matters

Legislation relating to reserved issues such as defence, national security, foreign affairs and monetary and economic issues are voted on by all the MPs at Westminster to ensure consistency across the whole of the United Kingdom. The Scottish Parliament is not able to pass laws on these issues itself, as they were not devolved. The West Lothian question is not involved in this situation, as all parts of the Union have a say roughly proportional to their population and all are equally affected.

Parliament of Northern Ireland

A situation akin to that presented by the West Lothian question did exist between 1921 and 1972, when there was a Parliament of Northern Ireland that legislated for Northern Ireland, but Northern Ireland continued to send MPs to Westminster, who could vote on matters affecting only Great Britain.

However, during this period Northern Ireland had disproportionately fewer MPs than would be expected from the relative populations, with the numbers cut from the 29 elected at the 1918 general election to 13 from the 1922 general election and later to 12 with the abolition of university constituencies in 1950.

Proposed solutions

English votes for English laws

"EVEL" redirects here. For other uses, see Evel.

It has been suggested that Scottish MPs should be barred from voting on matters that do not affect Scotland.[20] In July 1999, the then Conservative leader William Hague said that "English MPs should have exclusive say over English laws ... People will become increasingly resentful that decisions are being made in England by people from other parts of the UK on matters that English people did not have a say on elsewhere ... I think it is a dangerous thing to allow resentment to build up in a country. We have got to make the rules fair now."[21]

Kenneth Clarke's Democracy Taskforce

Following his election as Leader of the Conservative Party in 2005, David Cameron established a "Democracy Taskforce" chaired by Kenneth Clarke. The taskforce's final report "Devolution, The West Lothian Question and the Future of the Union" proposed a possible solution to the West Lothian question. The proposals called for changes in procedures in the House of Commons for the passage of bills relating only to England. Under the new procedures, all MPs would participate in the first and second readings of these bills, but only English MPs would participate in the committee stage consideration of the bill. All MPs would vote on the final bill at report stage.[22] An amendment proposed by Malcolm Rifkind suggested that the second reading and report stages of bills would require a "double majority" of both the House as a whole and of English MPs.[23]

Double majority voting

The Economist and others have proposed that in House of Commons votes on solely English matters, all MPs could vote but majorities would be required among both the house and English MPs. This would retain control of English matters with English representatives, but prevent the formation of a new all-English centre of power. A small but necessary imperfection would be the residual slightly greater influence of non-English MPs.[3]

English Grand Committee

As a slight variation on the proposal for English votes on English laws, Malcolm Rifkind proposed that an English Grand Committee, along the lines of the Scottish and Welsh Grand Committees (made up of all the MPs from the relevant nation) to be formed to debate on the effects of legislation on England.[24] Described as the "East Lothian answer", the plan would allow English MPs to discuss "England only" bills in a grand committee that would then vote on the bill. A new convention would be established so that the whole House would not overrule the committee's decisions. Rifkind claimed that his solution would prevent the creation of two classes of MPs that English votes on English laws could result in.[25]

Suggested fourth reading

The Conservative Cabinet Office Minister, Oliver Letwin, and the Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, later proposed that the rules of the House of Commons should be altered to introduce a "fourth reading" for any bills that only affect England and on which only English MPs would be able to vote. The Conservative and the Liberal Democratic Party leaders support the plans but the Government has yet to formally adopt the proposal. Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards called the proposal "half-baked" and Labour have made it known that they oppose the change with one shadow cabinet minister describing it as "hare-brained". Political analysis has pointed out that as Labour draw a disproportionate amount of their support from Wales and Scotland, this change might mean that although they held a majority in the Commons they might not simultaneous hold a majority of English MPs. In which case the opposition parties could use a fourth reading to frustrate many of its manifesto promises.[26][27]

The proposal went further than that put forward by the McKay Commission in suggesting that English MPs would have a veto over English legislation (while McKay suggested that while English MPs could delay bills, ultimately legislation proposed by a government and supported by a majority of all MPs should be passed).[26][27]

English devolution

English parliament

The creation of a devolved English parliament, with full legislative powers, akin to the Scottish Parliament is seen by some as a solution to this problem,[28] with full legislative powers also being conferred on the existing Welsh Assembly. The Westminster (United Kingdom) Parliament would continue to meet and legislate on matters of UK-wide competence such as Defence, Foreign Affairs and economic matters with the parliaments of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland legislating locally.

However, opponents of this proposal argue that it would simply add another layer of government and an 'expensive talking shop'. Scottish The Lord Falconer of Thoroton, the former Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, has stated that he believes that an English Parliament would "dwarf all other institutions."[29] MP Peter Hain, who campaigned for a Welsh Assembly, warned creating an English parliament or trying to stop Scottish and Welsh MPs from voting on England-only matters would break up the Union.[30]

Regional assemblies

The Labour government attempted to address part of the West Lothian question by introducing English regional assemblies with no legislative powers. Originally, it was planned that these would be directly elected. The London Assembly was the first of these, established following a referendum in 1998, in which public and media attention was focused principally on the post of Mayor of London.[31] Ken Livingstone was the first directly elected Mayor of London. He started his victory speech with "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted 14 years ago", making it clear he saw the London Assembly as a recreation of a similar London wide authority to that of the Greater London Council, which he had led before it was abolished in the 1980s.[32]

Further progress was thwarted when a referendum in the North East rejected the proposal for an elected assembly in November 2004[33] leading to the shelving of similar proposals for other English regions. The Regional Development Agencies were all scrapped by March 2012 with their powers and functions being transferred either to local government or in the case of London, the Greater London Authority.

Increased powers to English counties and cities

Douglas Carswell and Daniel Hannan have proposed that all the powers currently devolved to the Scottish Parliament should also be devolved to the English counties and cities. This would mean that the situation of Scottish MPs voting on policy which only affected England would no longer arise, because parliament would no longer be responsible for areas of policy which affected only England. Therefore parliament would have to choose to make policy either for the United Kingdom as a whole, or not at all.

Carswell and Hannan write: "All the fields of policy currently within the purview of the Holyrood Parliament should be transferred to English counties and cities (thereby, incidentally, answering the west Lothian Question)." [34]

Dissolution of the Union

Another solution might be the dissolution of the United Kingdom leading to some or all of the constituent countries (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) becoming independent sovereign states.

The principal party that campaigns for a dissolution of the Union is the Scottish National Party (SNP), which won an outright majority in the Scottish Parliament in the 2011 election. The SNP passed a referendum bill, and a Scottish independence referendum was held 18 September 2014, rejected by the people of Scotland. The Scottish and Westminster governments had agreed to promote an Order in Council under Section 30 of the Scotland Act 1998 to allow a single-question referendum on Scottish independence to be held before the end of 2014, this was necessary because decisions made at Holyrood concerning major constitutional issues are not normally binding on Westminster. Scotland's voters decided to stay within the United Kingdom.[35]

Labour politician Jack Straw has speculated: "I say to the Conservatives that if they start to take a mechanical approach, this so-called 'English votes for English laws' approach, then they will break the Union."[36]

In Wales, Welsh Nationalist party Plaid Cymru holds Welsh Independence as a long-term aim. In Northern Ireland there are no mainstream political parties calling for an independent Northern Irish state, but parties calling for a unified Ireland include Sinn Féin and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).

Abolishing the devolved bodies

The abolition of the devolved Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly would also fundamentally address the anomaly created by their establishment.

It would be highly controversial in Scotland, where the referendum passed by a vote of 74%-26%, and was passed in all 32 council areas of the country. While the Welsh Assembly was formed as a result of a very slim majority in the 1997 referendum, 50.3%-49.7%, support has since grown for the Welsh Assembly, and in favour of Wales having an Assembly.[37] In the 2011 referendum on devolving law-making powers to the Welsh Assembly, a majority of 63%-37% for further powers affirmed public support for devolution.[38]

Another consideration would be the potential implications that abolishing the Northern Ireland Assembly would have for the peaceful settlement to the Troubles.

Reducing the number of Scottish MPs

There is also the option of cutting the number of Scottish MPs, as happened to Northern Irish representation during the existence of the Parliament of Northern Ireland when the number of MPs from Northern Ireland seated at Westminster was below the standard ratio of MPs compared with the rest of the UK. (Although presently the number of Scottish MPs is higher than the standard ratio.) It is argued that Scotland would trade a reduced voice for Scotland in exchange for Scottish MPs being able to vote on English matters, which therefore may form an acceptable solution. However, it is difficult to see how accepting reduced voting strength on major issues affecting Scotland in exchange for a say in matters not applying to Scotland could be an attractive trade from a Scottish perspective.

McKay Commission

The May 2010 coalition agreement between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats provided for a commission to be established to consider the West Lothian question.[39]

In September 2011, the Government announced that the commission would be established in the near future and that it would consist of "independent, non-partisan experts". The new commission would examine how the House of Commons and Parliament as a whole could deal with business that affects only England and is devolved in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The commission would not look at reducing the number of MPs from the other three constituent countries or financing of the devolved institutions.[40] In December 2011, the Cabinet Office confirmed that the commission would be formed in February 2012 and was expected to report in Spring 2013.[41] On 17 January 2012, it was announced that this six-member commission would be named the "Commission on the consequences of devolution for the House of Commons", would be chaired by former Clerk of the House of Commons Sir William McKay, and would have one member from each of the devolved countries.

The Commission reported on 25 March 2013.[6][7] It concluded that changes were needed because of the perception that England was disadvantaged under the current devolution arrangements, and proposed that Commons decisions with a "separate and distinct effect" for England should "normally be taken only with the consent of a majority of MPs sitting for constituencies in England". This principle should be enshrined by a resolution of the House of Commons. The Commission also proposed a number of changes to procedure, including allocating specific parliamentary time to proposals for England. The government said it would give the report "serious consideration".[42]

Aftermath of the Scottish independence referendum

On 18 September 2014, the people of Scotland voted against independence by 55% to 45%. The following day, shortly after the outcome of the vote was announced, the Prime Minister, David Cameron, stated outside 10 Downing Street that the "question of English votes for English laws – the so-called West Lothian question – requires a decisive answer." He announced the appointment of Lord Smith to lead a commission to develop proposals for constitutional reform to be included in a Bill to be published in January 2015.[43] Labour refused to engage in cross party discussions about the issue.[44]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Labour rules out talks on 'English votes for English laws'". BBC News. BBC. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014. But Mr Hague said the issue of "English votes for English laws", known as the West Lothian Question, had been talked about for nearly 20 years but nothing had been done.
  2. ↑ "Scottish referendum: What is the 'English Question'?". BBC News. BBC. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Now for the English question, The Economist, 27 September 2014
  4. ↑ "West Lothian commission: Sir Emyr Jones Parry joins body". BBC News. 17 January 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  5. ↑ "Answer sought to the West Lothian question". BBC News Scotland. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Report of McKay Commission (Report). 25 March 2013.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 BBC News, England-only laws 'need majority from English MPs' , 25 March 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013
  8. ↑ Gladstone Papers. MS 44255: BL Add. pp. f. 178.
  9. ↑ http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1977/nov/14/scotland-bill#column_123
  10. ↑ Reid, Tim (13 September 2011). "BBC News – Q&A: The West Lothian Question". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  11. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-14834752
  12. ↑ Gallop, Nick in The Constitution and Constitutional Reform p.27 (Philip Allan, 2011) ISBN 978-0-340-98720-9
  13. ↑ McSmith, Andy (4 July 2006). "The Big Question: What is the West Lothian question, and can it be resolved satisfactorily?". The Independent (London).
  14. ↑ 1 (19 November 2007). "The West Lothian Question: Labour MPs want answers". thescotsman.com. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  15. ↑ "Scots MPs attacked over fees vote". BBC News. 27 January 2004.
  16. ↑ "Blair wins key top-up fees vote". BBC News. 27 January 2004.
  17. ↑ "Scottish Devolution and West Lothian Question". BBC h2g2. 19 September 2006.
  18. ↑ "Scotland Act, section 28(7)". Opsi.gov.uk. 18 February 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  19. ↑ Sewel Motions, Scottish Government website
  20. ↑ If it's English vote for English law, the UK's end is nigh, The Guardian, 12 June 2006
  21. ↑ "English votes on English laws", BBC News Online, 15 July 1999
  22. ↑
  23. ↑
  24. ↑ "Tories Ponder English Only Voting", BBC News Online, 28 October 2007
  25. ↑ MICHAEL SETTLE, Chief UK Political Correspondent (3 October 2007). "Party leader welcomes Rifkind's 'elegant' West Lothian Answer". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Wright, Oliver (9 July 2013). "English MPs 'could get veto on laws' under government plans". The Independent (London).
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 BBC staff (10 July 2013). "English MPs 'could get veto on laws' under government plans". BBC News.
  28. ↑ Campaign for an English Parliament,
  29. ↑ A possible answer to this might be an English Parliament consisting of all the 529 English MPs, a sort of 'English Grand Committee' – For the Majority Party in Parliament might not have the majority of English constituencies.No English parliament — Falconer, BBC News Online, 10 March 2006
  30. ↑ "Peter Hain warns banning Welsh MPs from English votes will 'destroy' Union". Wales Online. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  31. ↑ 'Overwhelming vote for Mayor', BBC News Online, 8 May 1998
  32. ↑ Paul Waugh and Andrew Grice. Ken reclaims the capital, The Independent 6 May 2000
  33. ↑ North East votes 'no' to assembly, BBC News Online, 5 November 2004
  34. ↑ Carswell, Douglas; Hannan, Daniel; Carswell, Douglas (2008). The Plan: Twelve Months to Renew Britain. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-0-9559799-0-3.
  35. ↑ http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/19/world/europe/scotland-independence-vote/index.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  36. ↑ Hamish Macdonell and Gerri Peev (2007). "The West Lothian Question: Labour MPs want answers". The Scotsman. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  37. ↑ "Majority back law-making assembly", BBC News Online, February 2009]
  38. ↑ "Welsh referendum: Yes vote to 'settle assembly issue'", BBC News Online, March 2011
  39. ↑ ,
  40. ↑ "Answer sought to the West Lothian question". BBC News. 8 September 2011.
  41. ↑
  42. ↑ "England-only laws 'need majority from English MPs'". BBC News. 25 March 2013.
  43. ↑ "David Cameron sets out UK-wide changes 'to build better future'", BBC News, 19 September 2014
  44. ↑ Labour rules out talks on 'English votes for English laws', BBC News

Further reading

External links