The Problem of EVEL: English Votes and the British Constitution
Professor Jim Gallagher has written the fourth working paper for the Gwilym Gibbon Centre for Public Policy, entitled “The Problem of EVEL: English Votes and the British Constitution”. Why should Scottish MPs vote on English issues, when the same matters are devolved to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh? This is the famous “West Lothian question”. After an election in which the possibility that SNP MPs might hold the balance of power in Westminster was a major campaign theme of the Conservative party, it remains at the forefront of UK politics. The government have now produced proposals for “English votes for English laws”. This paper reviews them, from the perspective of an author sympathetic to the idea, and suggests significant rethinking of some aspects is needed.