Press Story

The Government should change parliamentary procedure to allow MPs representing English constituencies to scrutinise and vote on 'English-only' legislation, according to a new paper published by the think tank IPPR. The Government is currently considering the 'West Lothian Question' through an independent commission of experts.

Ahead of St George's Day (next Monday), Jim Gallagher, Professor is at Nuffield College, Oxford University, argues that "the time has come to answer the West Lothian question", the constitutional anomaly that allows non-English MPs to vote on matters that only affect England. In his paper for IPPR, he rejects two commonly argued solutions: an English parliament and reducing the number of Scottish and Welsh MPs at Westminster.

Instead, Professor Gallagher argues:

"Most people think it can't be right to allow Scottish MP's to vote on English domestic issues, when they are devolved in Scotland. The same was true for many years in Northern Ireland and, now the Cardiff Assembly has real legislative powers, it matters for Wales as well. The problem is that Westminster is not only the UK's parliament ,but England's parliament too.

"The best answer lies in changes to parliamentary processes for English legislation. This takes us down the arcane byways of Commons procedure: but it can be done, and would oblige a government to pay heed to English opinion, especially if it does not have a majority of English MPs. The trick is to set up a route through the Commons that involves English (or for some things maybe English and Welsh) Committees at key points. All MPs still have the same status, but committees can reflect English views. It can and should be designed not to hamstring a government wholly. That's important, as England's government has to be able to govern."

Under Professor Gallagher's plan:

The whole House of Commons would vote on the Second Reading of a Bill. That way the Government - if it has a majority - should be able to determine the decision in principle on its Bills.
But then the stages at which a Bill can be amended, Committee stage and Report Stage, should be taken in English Committees, with the balance of English MPs.
There are some limits to amendments that can be made to a Bill, but the Government will have to accept them if it wants to get its Bill through. Otherwise it has to vote it down at report stage. It should not be able to reverse amendments there.

Guy Lodge, Associate Director at IPPR said:

"The English electorate believe the time has come to address the anomaly of the West Lothian question. Reform in this area is notoriously difficult and so we welcome this important contribution to the debate. As the report makes clear, however, dealing with the West Lothian question on its own will not be enough to address broader debates about the future direction of English governance and its place in an evolving Union. There are those that fear that an engagement with a debate about England and Englishness will weaken the union, but the truth is the opposite. The longer this debate is ignored, or worse, denied, the more likely we will see a backlash within England against the UK. Progressive politics needs to lead this debate."

Professor Gallagher's argues that the change would needs a cross party consensus. He argues that:

"The idea that a Tory voting England regularly has Labour governments imposed on it by the Celtic fringe is a myth. To form a stable government any party needs to win in England. Other MP's are only critical when England is split down the middle. That's seldom happened: Harold Wilson struggled on with an English minority but a UK majority for two years from 1964, and for 8 months in 1974. But since then Labour has only won when it won England. The risk will be even less now that constituencies are to be equalised. And England-only legislation is not as common as people think. So change will neither guarantee a Tory hegemony nor cripple every Labour Government."

The paper argues that one reason for addressing the West Lothian question is that the English public strongly support reform:

IPPR polling shows that 79% of English voters say that Scottish MPs should be barred from voting on English matters.
When broken down by party affiliation it is clear that supporters of the three main parties all back reform. When asked if Scottish MPs should be barred from voting on English matters:
- 93% of Conservative voters agreed
- 75% of Labour voters agreed
- 81% of Lib Dem voters agreed

Notes to Editors

Professor Jim Gallagher's new paper - England and the Union: How and why to answer the West Lothian Question - is available from: http://bit.ly/IPPR8954

One issue often raised is how to define an 'English-only' law. Professor Gallagher's paper gives recent examples in the last two parliaments of legislation that would qualify:

NHS Redress Act
National Health Service (Consequential Provisions) Act
National Health Service Act
Education and Inspections Act
Council Tax (New Valuation Lists for England) Act

Contact

Richard Darlington, 07525 481 602, r.darlington@ippr.org

Tim Finch, 07595 920 899,t.finch@ippr.org