SNP MPs staged a protest during a vote on the NHS Funding Bill in which only those MPs representing English constituencies could take part.
Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) posted a photo on Twitter of SNP MPs in a voting lobby holding up signs which said "Speak no EVEL", "See no EVEL" and "Hear no EVEL" - a reference to the English votes for English laws (EVEL) procedure.
He wrote: "Today Scottish and Welsh MPs have been excluded from voting on a Bill which has direct consequences on both our nations' NHS: nevertheless we sought to express our rights and the voice of our constituents #EVEL."
Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville-Roberts was also among those pictured with the SNP MPs in the protest.
Raising a further point of order, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said: "Is this indeed the first time that members from Scotland have had their votes discounted in this place?
"And what conclusion should we draw when an item such as this Bill is going to have spending consequences for Scotland, yet Scottish MPs are locked out of this place?
"Can we not draw our own conclusion that this is indeed the English Parliament and the answer to the people of Scotland is very clear. If you want your votes counted, then we better become an independent Parliament in Scotland."
Responding, deputy speaker Dame Eleanor Laing said: "(He) I'm afraid does not quite explain the situation as it really is, you see this parliament is the parliament of the UK."
Dame Eleanor added: "Members from Scottish constituencies and constituencies from every part of the UK have not been locked out, they have been allowed to participate in the debate, but not to vote in it and members from Northern Ireland constituencies and from Welsh constituencies are similarly categorised for these particular divisions."
Raising a further point of order, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove branded the SNP's actions a "transparent stunt".
He said: "Is it not the case that health is a devolved matter, the responsibility for the NHS in Scotland is the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament.
"Is it the case that, therefore, members of this House have no votes or say in what happens in the NHS in Scotland and is it not appropriate to point out to SNP members that while they stage these stunts here, it is the case that the sick children's hospital in Edinburgh for which they are responsible remains closed and cases of poisoning in hospitals in Glasgow for which they are responsible remain undealt with.
"Until the Scottish Government makes sure that the health of the people of Scotland is looked after, the people of Scotland will regard this as a transparent stunt by people who instead of representing their constituents seek to manufacture grievance."
The SNP's Pete Wishart (Perth and North Perthshire) has said Parliament needs to "come into the 21st century".
- READ MORE: Journalists boycott 'sinister and sad' Downing Street Brexit briefing
Protesting against the English Votes for English Laws (EVEL) procedures, he asked Deputy Speaker Eleanor Laing: "Can you confirm that these events will be televised and the people throughout the United Kingdom, particularly in Scotland, are observing our proceedings this evening with a degree of mystification and bewilderment about what is happening.
"And what Scottish viewers, and you can confirm this, will be watching is the baying and the groaning and the booing of Conservative members here about Scottish members of Parliament asserting their rights to have their say on the funding of the National Health Service.
"Can you confirm that that is indeed the case and that this House really needs to grow up, behave itself and come into the 21st century?"
Ms Laing replied that she "understood the point".
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel