West Lothian question

The West Lothian question is a question posed by Tam Dalyell,

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MP for the Scottish constituency of West Lothian during the debate over Scottish devolution in the 1970s, and which is still relevant after the 1999 establishment of the Scottish Parliament. The name was coined in 1977 by Enoch Powell.

Related Topics:
MP - West Lothian - Scottish - Devolution - 1970s - 1999 - Scottish Parliament - 1977 - Enoch Powell

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The question is twofold:

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:How can it be right that MP's elected to Westminster from Scottish constituencies have no ability to affect the issues of their constituents which have been devolved to the Scottish Parliament and

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:If power over Scottish affairs is devolved to a Scottish Parliament, how can it be right that MPs representing Scottish constituencies in the Parliament of the United Kingdom will have the power to vote on issues affecting England (including those that don't affect Scotland), but English MPs will not have the power to vote on Scottish issues?

Related Topics:
Parliament of the United Kingdom - England

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With the creation of the Scottish Parliament, this anomaly has come into

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existence, though without great protest in England.

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While it seems unlikely that Scottish MPs will be prevented from voting on English domestic affairs, the number of MPs to which Scotland is entitled (which was previously disproportionately high for its population) was reduced at the United Kingdom general election, 2005, from 72 to 59.

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Protests have been growing recently, especially after legislation for the creation of foundation hospitals in England, an extremely controversial policy, was passed due to the votes of Scottish MPs when a majority of English MPs had voted against. A key vote of proposals to introduce university top-up fees, in the Higher Education Act 2004 also passed only due to Scottish MPs voting (even though almost a third of the provisions of the bill directly extended to Scotland), and this has generated further calls for reform, especially as the policy directly affected the funding for Scottish universities, even though they are under the jurisdiction of the Scottish Parliament.

Related Topics:
Foundation hospital - Higher Education Act 2004 - Scotland

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