What a silly article on the Herald site Labour fears English votes plan will halt new powers. These ill thought out plans will not halt Scottish self determination they will enhance them!
English Votes for English Laws in the House of Commons is unworkable.
85% of the representation in the House of Commons is already English. England can outvote Scotland, Wales Cornwall and Northern Ireland together; at over 5 to 1 under the current system, restricting the voting rights of "Celtic" MPs doesn't redress a balance it enhances the current imbalance. You cannot save the Union by giving a minority of MPs an even more minor role in the Union's Parliament whilst promoting the vast majority to a more superior role!
Some Scottish only or Welsh only issues are still reserved by Westminster, so under EVoEL rules would voting on SVoSL and WVoWL rules also exist? Broadcasting is not devolved, so S4C and BBC Alba are still UK issues, would English MPs be forced to abstain on such issues? If not they must be devolved, if they aren't WVoWL gives Wales "double devolution" on S4C and doesn't address the ubiquitous West Lothian Question!
Westminster is a bicameral parliament how would EVoEL work in the House of Lords?
The fact is that when 45% of an "Union" registers its dissatisfaction with that union, there is no compromise that can appease those who are dissatisfied.
There are only two responses to the referendum and the "Vow", renege on the Vow and let Scotland know that it was cheated out of Independence or stick by the Vow and let Scotland know that the Vow was a mirage.
The Union was put on life support on September 18th 2014, it is just a matter of time for those grieving to accept the death of the Union and for the nearest and dearest to decide when and how to flick the switch!
Oh, dear, Alwyn
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your wrtiting, but there is a bit of woolly thinking here. I don't see any sign of an end to the United Kingdom. Your prediction of the demise of the UK is high exaggerated. The independence referendum is over and will soon be forgotten. We will hear a lot about the Barnet formula and the West Lothian question in decades and even centuries to come, but there is and never has been a threat to the Union,.
You wrote "The fact is that when 45% of an "Union" registers its dissatisfaction with that union". That did't happen, of course. About 2.67% of the Union's population expresed dissatisfaction with the Union. Incidentally the figure 45% is an exaggeration. The real percentage of Scots voting for independence was 44.7%, with 28 out of the 32 council areas voting No, and only four voting Yes. I suspect that if there is a re-run of the vote in twenty or thirty years, the vote against independence will be even higher.
There is no grieving and there will be no grieving. There will be some internal adjustments within the Union, but it is not under threat. The crowns of Scotland and EnglandandWales have been united for over 400 years, and the Union is well over 300 years old. I don't see such a steady unified kinghdom under any threat at all.
There can be no democracy in Wales via a Central Westminster Parliament, which is currently run by two parties who failed to get any majority. As it is the predominate English numerical superiority will deny another area of the UK any sort of Independence. Only through total devolution will Independence and democracy come. The suggestion we get total devolution without that Independence is farcical, and, unacceptable.
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