West Lothian Question
David Cameron wants an English Grand Committee of MPs, he says, to solve the West Lothian Question, but could it be he wants it for the narrow political motive of embarrassing the Labour Party? Gordon Brown does not want one. Could that be because he too knows it would embarrass the Labour Party? I suppose it would be too much to expect them to consider the country and voters instead of their respective parties.
Briefly, the West Lothian Question, first raised by Tim Dalziell, then Labour MP for West Lothian, is why MPs for Scottish constituencies can vote on purely English matters although, since devolution, MPs for English constituencies cannot vote on purely Scottish matters.
The Conservative proposal is to form an English Grand Committee of all MPs for English constituencies to take decisions on all purely English matters. Although it is a very simple and attractive solution at first sight, it would be totally ridiculous in practice and, as an intelligent person, David Cameron must realise this; I assume, therefore, his real motive in proposing the suggestion was to cause mischief for the Government; it cannot be to solve the problem or improve the Constitution because it would clearly do neither.
The Conservative Party usually has more votes in England than any other party, even when the Labour Party has more votes throughout the UK. Under the present voting system, this can translate into an overall majority of Conservatives among MPs for English constituencies. Thus, when there was a Conservative UK Government, an English Grand Committee would be unnecessary and, when there was a Labour UK Government, the committee would be unworkable; there would be constitutional crisis because the Government would be unable to get its business through Parliament.
The best first step to solve the problem would be to introduce the Single Transferable Vote (STV) in multi-member constituencies to elect MPs. This is the system that was introduced so successfully in May 2007 for local elections in Scotland. It would prevent any one party from controlling Parliament with only a minority of the popular vote. It might be enough to solve the West Lothian Question but, if not, consideration could then be given to an English Grand Committee. At least, then, it would not be dominated by the Conservative Party or any other party. This would avoid the problem that it would be unnecessary with a Conservative UK Government and unworkable with a Labour UK Government.
Please visit http://www.stvaction.org.uk/ for more information about STV.
Briefly, the West Lothian Question, first raised by Tim Dalziell, then Labour MP for West Lothian, is why MPs for Scottish constituencies can vote on purely English matters although, since devolution, MPs for English constituencies cannot vote on purely Scottish matters.
The Conservative proposal is to form an English Grand Committee of all MPs for English constituencies to take decisions on all purely English matters. Although it is a very simple and attractive solution at first sight, it would be totally ridiculous in practice and, as an intelligent person, David Cameron must realise this; I assume, therefore, his real motive in proposing the suggestion was to cause mischief for the Government; it cannot be to solve the problem or improve the Constitution because it would clearly do neither.
The Conservative Party usually has more votes in England than any other party, even when the Labour Party has more votes throughout the UK. Under the present voting system, this can translate into an overall majority of Conservatives among MPs for English constituencies. Thus, when there was a Conservative UK Government, an English Grand Committee would be unnecessary and, when there was a Labour UK Government, the committee would be unworkable; there would be constitutional crisis because the Government would be unable to get its business through Parliament.
The best first step to solve the problem would be to introduce the Single Transferable Vote (STV) in multi-member constituencies to elect MPs. This is the system that was introduced so successfully in May 2007 for local elections in Scotland. It would prevent any one party from controlling Parliament with only a minority of the popular vote. It might be enough to solve the West Lothian Question but, if not, consideration could then be given to an English Grand Committee. At least, then, it would not be dominated by the Conservative Party or any other party. This would avoid the problem that it would be unnecessary with a Conservative UK Government and unworkable with a Labour UK Government.
Please visit http://www.stvaction.org.uk/ for more information about STV.
Labels: Electoral Reform
posted by Anthony Tuffin at 18:56
1 Comments:
Would STV or other electoral reform help change the feudal powers the Duke of Cornwall can exercise in Cornwall?
How to make a county disappear: http://duchyofcornwall.eu/
Well I don’t have the exact formula but if you study this website from the Duchy of Cornwall Human Rights Association you’ll be able to see exactly the constitutional loops the establishment and Duchy authority have jumped through to turn Cornwall, an extraterritorial crown possession legally separate from England, into a supposed English county.
This site explains how a British territorial possession became someone’s private estate.
It makes great and fairly easy reading and should be studied by all those interested in the UK constitution. For more details of the Duchy scam you can listen to the person behind the Duchy of Cornwall Human Rights Association, John Angarrack, in interview on BBC radio Cornwall talking about his new book here: http://www.myspace.com/thecornwellian
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