I have a constituent, Rev John Cutter, who wastes no opportunity to raise the unfairness of the West Lothian Question with me.
We have discussed the issue many times over the years and I was pleased to be able to let him know back in 2010 that a commitment to answer it had made it into my party’s General Election manifesto. Indeed, some of us entering the House of Commons for the first time were eager to see this constitutional anomaly, whereby Scottish MPs still vote in Westminster on matters long since devolved to Holyrood, dealt with once and for all.
For me, this was unfinished business from Tony Blair’s botched devolution settlement in 1997 and it bred a resentment in England which my constituents have every right to feel. I raised it in the Commons with the Deputy Prime Minister (who gave me a very poor answer for the record) as recently as July. It is of course not the only part of English devolution that is outstanding and I note the leader of Hampshire, Cllr Roy Perry, is making a passionate case at the moment for more power to be devolved to England’s counties. It’s a thesis I have much interest in exploring further and it’s far better than a discredited and expensive regional assembly folly.
Anyway, the election of a majority SNP Government in Edinburgh in 2011, threw a large spanner in the works and it was clear a referendum on full independence was coming where a YES vote would answer the West Lothian Question once and for all.
I’ve been thinking of Rev Cutter in the days since the Scottish NO vote came through and I’ve been hearing from many more of the people I represent who, while pleased the UK remains together, want this unfairness addressed and do not want us to throw goody bags worth billions of pounds north of the border to reward the Scots for having the good sense to stay within our 300 year-old union.
Like many of my colleagues I know, I have been feeding this sentiment directly into the Prime Minister and his statement on Friday morning last week – not least his wish to see the West Lothian Question “decisively answered” – was spot on. The people of Scotland have spoken and now the people of England will be heard.
When we return to Westminster after the party conference season, the Commons will hold a landmark debate on the aftermath of this referendum and I will be there ensuring my constituents are heard. I believe there is a cross-party consensus among MPs from the South to get this done and to re-balance our fragile constitution but this must be done through the elected House of Commons because, as I said at one point last week, constitutional reform is not a matter for Prime Ministers (or even ex-Prime Ministers) to handle via the Royal Prerogative. We need to learn the lessons of 1997 and do this properly which, for me, does mean a cool-headed constitutional convention in this country which seeks to heal our United Kingdom the same way we’re fixing our broken economy. And that absolutely should consider the role of the House of Lords as well.
Rev Cutter said to me once that he feared these matters, not least the West Lothian Question, were fringe issues only of real interest to the politically minded. He was probably right but, like him, I’ve always believed its time would come and what an irony it is that the actions of a Scot determined to break-up up our UK brought the rights of the English to centre-stage.
