Even English MPs shun opaque new voting procedures, committee reports
NEW rules which restrict the voting rights of Scottish MPs should be urgently and comprehensively rewritten just a year after being introduced, a report says.
Even English MPs are shunning parts of the “English votes for English laws” (Evel) system, the cross-party House of Commons Procedure Committee found. Few if any are speaking in new “English-only” debates.
The committee said it was “deeply dissatisfied” with the rules governing Evel, which were “opaque and defy interpretation by” MPs, and did not command support across the chamber.
Hailed as a way to make the Commons fairer, Evel has introduced an imbalance too, MPs said. Under the new rules, English MPs can veto reforms that would change public spending levels in England, but Scottish MPs cannot do the same for Scotland.
David Cameron announced plans to introduce Evel less than an hour after Scotland voted to remain in the UK in 2014. Critics attacked the then PM, saying the policy should have been announced before the referendum.
But the Conservative government forged ahead, arguing the previous system had been unfair because it allowed Scottish MPs to vote on issues that did not directly affect their constituents. The row centres on the West Lothian Question, which asks, how, under devolution, a Scottish MP could vote on health issues in Blackburn, Lancashire but not Blackburn, West Lothian.
The report warns Evel does “not command the respect and support across all parties that it should if the system is to be sustainable through the political stresses it must expect to face in the future.” It adds: “This is not a sound basis for a major longterm change to the legislative process in this House.”
SNP MP Patrick Grady, a member of the Procedure Committee, called on Mrs May to dump Evel.
A UK Government spokesman said current arrangements “strike the right balance in providing a clear voice to English MPs while ensuring every MP is still able to vote and debate on all pieces of legislation”.