As the Commons debate on devolution gets underway, the three parties have set out their positions on English votes for English laws. The Tories are adamant that this principle needs to be solved, but have accepted that they cannot link it to greater devolution to Scotland. The Lib Dems agree that parliament must address the issue, but want a Grand Committee to allow English MPs to ‘vet’ laws that will apply only in England. Labour doesn’t want to do anything about this ‘stitch-up’ and will not attend the Cabinet committee discussing the change – although the Leader of the House did invite John Denham, who seems rather aerated today, to attend instead.
William Hague said it was a ‘basic matter of fairness to say that the voice of England should also be heard’ and that it was no longer fair for Scottish MPs to cast votes on matters that didn’t affect their constituents. At the moment the debate is mostly a fight between Labour and the Tories over the principle of EVEL. But it could well become an internal Tory issue. John Redwood today threatened to table the change to standing orders anyway if the other parties don’t agree to it by the end of November:
‘We’re giving the other parties until the end of November to see if they’d like to join us. If not, then I hope we will just table it and I suspect it will carry.’
At this point the Tory leadership will need to decide whether to support this backbench push or not. Today William Hague said the English people may have to have the discussion about EVEL at the General Election. But it seems the whips will have to have a discussion about it even sooner.
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