Britannist

Little Englander (sour)

I just cannot see how anyone can disagree with barring Scots elected MPs from voting on English issues. It would seem to be ok to bar English elected MPs from voting on Scottish issues and unionists deem this to be democratic
equality.
It doesn't go far enough, if Scotland can have a Parliament then England can have a Parliament.
Unionist arch enemy, Alex Salmond. also thinks that it is time for England to have an independent Patliament.

Smidgey

It would seem that even the majority of Scot's agree with this. The only Scot I have ever met that disagrees is my own father. Him and I disagree on many things though, in my eye he is just a socialist, in his eye I am a right wing wacko.

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How vain is man, who boasts in fight the valour of gigantic might!

-Georg Friedrich Händel

Westcountryman

Why does he disagree with it? Enjoy telling English people what to do does he?

This would go some way to solving the West Lothian question. I don't care if it creates 'two tiers' of MP and thus makes Gordon the moron a second-rate MP and PM. Labour created this mess and the inequality by bringing about devolution in the first place.

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Manus haec inimica tyrannis ense petit placidam sub libertate quietam - "This hand of mine, which is hostile to tyrants, seeks by the sword quiet peace under liberty."

cassie

The pretendy socialist Labour Party is going the right way [the right way??!! geddit!] to political extinction in England for decades!

Funny how it's ok to be nationalistic if you're a so called Scottish socialist, but not if you're an English socialist! Of course the Soviets were not the remotest nationalistic or chauvenistic on any level, but then, they were only communists!

Britannist

Labour make the claim that English-only voting in the Commons on English matters would create two-tiers of MPs. What they really mean, of course, is that they find it difficult to win a (Labour) majority of seats in England.

In fact (and it is a point not made often enough) - it is Labour who created two-tiers of MPs in the House of Commons with their botched devolution in 1999. From that time, two groups of MPs existed:

1. Those Scottish constituency MPs who can vote on specifically English matters before the House of Commons but who cannot vote on Scottish domestic matters (including those which affect their own constituents).

2. English constituency MPs who cannot vote on specifically Scottish matters (because, of course, those matters are now dealt with by the rival Parliament in Edinburgh) and who cannot vote on English internal matters (because, as far as the House of Commons goes, there is no such thing - all votes in the House of Commons are taken on a British pan-UK basis).

Britannist

UKIP criticises the Conservative proposal for a Grand Committee of English constituency MPs to deliberate on specifically English matters before the House of Commons:

UK Independence Party - Tory parliamentary plans 'dangerous'

Britannist

There's more on this at:

UKIP: Tory parliamentary plans 'dangerous'

arden forester

First bit, NO. An English Grand committee would still mean two class MPs. Second bit, YES. An English Parliament would be the only fair settlement.

Whilst I have been a Unionist and still am, I am no longer in favour of a "British" parliament supposedly carrying on the ways of Empire. I now would like to see a Union parliament in Westminster of only 300 MPs and an English parliament of around 200 MPs. Wales and Northern Ireland to have comparable parliaments and not assemblies.

This way the devolved parliaments are anchored into a UK. The fact that England is bigger is neither here nor there. In the USA there are four pacific states. California, Oregan, Washington and Alaska. Size does not bother them! But they all have something in common.

If Scotland votes for independence, I can't stop that, but I somehow think Salmond is getting a tad too excited! Also, the UKIP stance of abolishing the assemblies and going back ten years is a no-go. Once a political genie gets out of the bottle it's either a case of working with the situation or coming up with something new. Repeating the past never works.

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www.westminster-whispers.blogspot.com

rjt

I think the new Labour argument regarding two tiers of MPS is riddiculous, they have created that through devolution! What we are seeking now is parity for the English Tier.

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Mr Delors said that he wanted the European Parliament to be the democratic body of the community, The Commission to be The Executive and The Council Of Ministers The Senate. NO! NO! NO!
(Margaret Thatcher 30 Oct 1990)

Ignore List: The Prophets of ST Al the Unelectable.