The UK Government in its plans for English Votes for English Laws (Evel) is making fundamental changes to British constitutional practice without proper consideration of the consequences. The plans were voted through in the Commons yesterday after heated debate. Aside from the 270 MPs who voted against Evel, Numerous authorities including the Commons Procedure Committee have urged caution, for very good reasons.
School pupils are taught about the British parliamentary system is that all MPs are considered equal and every member has a right to vote on every item of legislation. This will no longer be the case under Evel.
The Government intends to set up an English Grand Committee composed solely of English MPs. This body will have a right of veto over any piece of legislation that affects England alone. The Speaker will decide which bills are of exclusive interest to England. But it is extremely difficult to identify such bills.
Take the third runway at Heathrow airport, which the Tory leader of the House, Chris Grayling, has cited as an “English” matter. This has a direct impact on the Scottish economy. In recent years, the number of services from Scotland to Heathrow has been cut by one third. Should the economic benefit not be spread wider by establishing a hub in the north of England or in Scotland?
Measures affecting the English education system, such as tuition fees, have an impact in Scotland. The incursion of private providers into the English NHS has financial implications through the Barnett Formula for spending on Scottish health.
There are anomalies in the present arrangement. There are measures such as hunting with hounds that are arguably of interest only to English voters and have no financial implications. Until recently, the SNP had exercised a self-denying ordinance on such issues.
Unfortunately, under pressure from campaign groups in England, SNP MPs abandoned this principled position in July and said they would vote against hunting with hounds in England. This has not helped matters. But Labour and the Liberal Democrats are also opposed to Evel because it violates the cardinal principle that all MPs have equal voting rights on all bills.
Mr Grayling insists that these rights remains under Evel AS all MPs will vote on the final reading of all bills. This is disingenuous. English members will be able to prevent certain bills being voted upon at all because they have a veto.
The only consistent way to address what has been called the West Lothian Question (why should Scottish MPs have a right to vote on English matters when English MPs have no such rights in the Scottish Parliament?) would be to move to a form of federalism and a properly constituted English parliament. If the UK government does not wish to go down that road it should seek a workable compromise.
As it is, there is a risk the unitary foundations of British parliamentary practice will be wrecked. Evel is a constitutional fix by a Conservative government seeking to consolidate its control of the Commons. It is difficult to see how it can succeed.
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