The Wardman Wire

That question has been asked again…

Labour MP Ian Davidson has said this morning on the Today programme that the “anomaly” of Scottish MPs voting on English-only laws in Westminster is “a price worth paying for the Union.” But why is it always the English who seem to be paying for it?

Once again it is the Tories who have opened up the debate on the West Lothian question. Ex-Tory chancellor Ken Clarke’s Democracy Taskforce says Scottish MPs should not vote on amendments - when policy is discussed in-depth - to England-only bills. Some would go even further and have English only votes in Westminster.

Compelling arguments

I have to say the arguments are very compelling. As Clarke said this morning “when the Westminster parliament is dealing with purely English things, it shouldn’t find the English have things imposed on them by members of Parliament who are elected to represent other parts of the country that are unaffected.” After all, the Scots can now vote on Scottish only issues in Holyrood.

Perhaps the English want it more than the Scots

These comments are likely to spark a new round of devolution debate. Despite Alex Salmond and the Scottish National Party calling for a referendum on Scottish independence, you sense that it is actually the English who are the more in favour of English independence. Have we really reached a point where devolution, far from redressing a balance of power back to Scotland, it has actually swung the pendulum vastly in their favour and now the English want out? The perception is, while the English are making all the money for the Union, the Scottish are using it to getting a better deal in the areas they now control - NHS, education, transport, police, fire brigade, social work, housing, tourism, criminal law and courts and prisons. Yet in all these areas, the Scottish are also having a degree of control over the English too.

A mess from the start

Devolution was a mess from the start. It was poorly implemented and thought out – a half way house that they hoped would appease everyone but only ended up pleasing no-one. We are now at a point where the Union is threatened.

The problem is, the more you try and redress this issue, the more unbalanced it becomes. If you start to take away power from Scottish MPs in Westminster, it starts to look very much like an English parliament. It also means that we can no longer have a Scottish PM as he would not be able to vote on English matters, which would be very curious indeed. All this would do is make the Scottish resent the system and the problems continue – until a break in the Union altogether.

How big a problem is it really?

But just how big a problem, in reality, is all this. The often cited example is that of student “top-up” tuition fees that the English have to pay whereas the Scottish students do not. Then there are prescription charges – again the Scots seem to be getting subsidised by the English for a cheaper health care system.

But in reality, how many votes have actually hinged on Scottish MPs? 529 out of 646 seats are English constituencies, giving English MPs by far the greater influence in Westminster. Of the 59 Scottish MPs that do sit in Westminster, how often do they actually vote on English only matters anyway – and when have they had an outcome changing impact?

I am not saying that it is not possible for Scottish MPs to determine the outcome of English issues, but it is rare – and rare enough for me to believe that we should not meddle with the system anymore, because the more we do meddle with it the more problems it creates.

The logic of the arguments

Of course, the logic of much of the debate doesn’t run through either. Yes England may be funding much of Scotland – but then again London is funding much of England. MPs from the English border towns vote on things that happen all the way down in London. MPs from the urban areas vote on rural issues – remember fox hunting? Besides, why would we want to create yet another layer of government in England? More bureaucracy, more costs and more chance for decision makers to blame someone else.

The Tories playing dangerous politics?

Of course, it would be in the Tories favour right now to have an English Parliament – after all, they won more votes in the 2005 election in England. Though, that would lead to the Midlands and the North crying for more representation as the Tories won their votes in London and the South East. You see, representation can be a regressive argument until you get to the point where you are the sole decision maker who represents your own interests.

Ask no questions…

Right now, it seems the English are being hard done by, but when these issues are addressed it will be the Scots who will feel hard done by and the whole process of deconstructing the Union will continue. The more we meddle, the more problems it seems to create. As Lord Irvine of Lairg said, the best answer to the West Lothain question is to stop asking it.

Well he would, wouldn’t he – he’s a Scot.