Last month the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee published a report on English votes for English laws in which significant doubts were raised about whether the new standing orders are a sustainable solution to the West Lothian question. The committee’s chair, Bernard Jenkin, outlines his committee’s findings and argues that the government should adopt a comprehensive strategy for the future of relationships between Westminster and the UK’s component parts.
At the outset of this parliament it was clear that the newly formed Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee (PACAC), given its renewed remit in constitutional affairs, would have to look at English votes for English laws (EVEL).
The issue of Scottish MPs influence in Westminster was controversially amplified during the 2015 general election campaign, when the Conservatives focused voters’ minds on the possibility of SNP MPs holding the balance of power. During our evidence sessions, we were told of increasing dissatisfaction with the constitutional status quo in England and the anomaly whereby Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs can vote on matters affecting voters on England yet are unable to vote on these subjects as they affect their own constituents thanks to devolution.
Evidence suggests that of all the potential remedies to the ‘English question’ that have arisen from devolution, the principle of English votes for English laws commands consistent and substantial popular support, both north and south of the border. However, PACAC’s report ultimately concludes that while this may be true, we have significant doubts that the current standing orders are the right answer to the so-called West Lothian question, or that they represent a sustainable solution. They may be unlikely to survive the election of a government that cannot command a double majority of both English and UK MPs.