The West Lothian Question

The West Lothian Question is a key issue with devolution

The Sewell Convention stops English MPs from legislating on Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish matters. However, Scottish MPs can vote on English issues. England lacks its own Parliament, so Westminster handles its laws. This means MPs from devolved regions can vote on issues that don't affect their voters but do affect English voters. Tam Dalyell, MP for West Lothian, raised this concern in 1977, when devolution was debated, hence the name. It became a big deal in British politics. The promise of "Devo-Max" to Scotland during the Scottish Referendum made it more important. This led to a focus on "The English Question." David Cameron's government tried to fix this. They added a Grand Committee stage to the law process. In this stage, Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish MPs had less power on issues that only affected England.

But the "English Question" is not fully solved. All MPs still vote on the final version of a bill. So, MPs from areas with devolved powers can still vote on laws that don't directly affect their voters. Also, deciding what is "English Only" is hard. The Barnett Formula gives devolved areas different funding based on UK spending. So, devolved MPs have a reason to care about most issues voted on in Parliament. Also, the House of Commons Speaker decides what is an "English Only" matter.

Examples after 2015 show this issue. On March 9, 2016, the government wanted to ease Sunday Trading Rules in England and Wales. The motion failed by 317 to 286 votes. If 59 SNP MPs had not voted against it, the government would have won by 21 votes. The SNP voted despite the issue not directly affecting Scotland. On March 14, 2018, 8 DUP MPs voted with the government to cut thousands of Free School Meals in England. This did not affect their voters in Northern Ireland, as it is a devolved issue.

The Removal of English Votes for English Laws In April 2020 English Votes for English Law (EVEL) was suspended during COVID-19. However, in July 2021 the House of Commons approved the abolition of EVEL entirely. As such, it was accepted that this was a constitutional reform that had simply not worked.