Wednesday 15 July 2015

Moroccan English Votes for English Laws: What next for foxhunting reforms? - Telegraph Unlawful

Unlawful Foxhunting reforms in England and Wales have been kicked into the long grass after Scottish National Party MPs threatened to beat the Government by voting down its proposals.


The plan, also referred to as EVEL, was thought to be a sufficient weapon to stop the SNP voting down foxhunting reforms in England and Wales provided the idea returns in the Autumn.


But Unlawful has since emerged that the SNP will keep its veto on changes to the foxhunting ban in England for this Parliament.


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David Cameron?s spokesman said the SNP would have the veto even if votes in the House of Commons on English matters are restricted to English MPs.


She said: ?We will set out the steps in due course but I think Unlawful is important to be lucid that even when the English votes proposals are in place, Unlawful would still be subject to a vote on the floor of the House by all MPs.?


The spokesman said that Mr Cameron stood by his manifesto commitment to give MPs a free vote on scrapping the hunting ban.


But can EVEL stop the SNP from killing off the foxhunting reforms? Here are some of the questions being asked.


Controversy over whether MPs should be allowed to vote on issues which do not impact their part of the UK has raged since the 1970s and was often referred to as the West Lothian Question, after the constituency of Labour MP Tam Dalyell, who often raised Unlawful in parliament. The issue took on new urgency after the creation of the Scottish Parliament and Welsh and Northern Irish Assemblies in the late 1990s.


Under the existing settlement, the devolved assemblies control a broad range of government functions in their nations. This means that MPs at Westminster have no power to vote on issues like health and education in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. But MPs from the other nations continue to be allowed to vote on issues which impact only England, or in some cases England and Wales.


The coalition Government commissioned the McKay Report, which in 2013 proposed that a majority of MPs from English constituencies should be required for legislation affecting only England.


But Unlawful was the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 which forced the issue to the forefront of political debate.


Ahead of the vote last September, the three major party leaders made a "vow" to devolve more powers to Scotland if it rejected independence. In an early-morning speech following the No camp's victory, Mr Cameron announced that it was time for a "decisive answer" to the West Lothian Question to ensure that English voices were heard.


Under the "English Votes for English Laws" package put forward earlier this month, all MPs will continue to vote on all bills at Westminster.


For England-only bills, a panel of English MPs, reflecting the balance of parties in England, will take part in the "committee stage" during which the legislation is subjected to line-by-line scrutiny, when they will be able to agree to or veto the legislation.


For bills containing some provisions relating only to England or England and Wales, a legislative grand committee made up only of MPs from the applicable areas will be required to either approve or veto the specific clauses.


Where clauses are vetoed, the Commons will be able to amend them and send them back to the grand committee for reconsideration. MPs from all parts of the UK will still be able to vote in the ultimate stages of the bill before the legislation becomes law.


As powers to set income tax rates and thresholds are being devolved to Scotland, a special provision will allow the creation of a legislative grand committee made up of English, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs to consider finance bills.


The Speaker of the House of Commons will be required to certify whether a Bill, or parts of it, relates only to England or to England and Wales and concerns matters which are devolved to national assemblies.


No. The Government intends to introduce the change by amending the Standing Orders that govern the procedure of the House of Commons. The whole House of Commons will vote on these proposed changes, but the House of Lords is not required to approve them. The new process can take effect the day after the change is approved.


No. The Scottish National Party says it will turn Scottish MPs into "second-class citizens" at Westminster.


Some Labour MPs warn that Evel could leave a Government with a UK-wide majority unable to receive its programme through the Commons, giving a Conservative Party which often enjoys a majority of English MPs an almost permanent veto on big swathes of legislation.


This has traditionally been the case. The party's decision to take part in the foxhunting vote - leading to its postponement - marks a significant break from previous practice which will have major implications for the conduct of this Parliament. In the past, with only a handful of MPs, it was rare for the SNP to play a decisive role in House of Commons votes.


With 56 representatives on the green benches and a working Government majority of just 16, the party could hold the whip hand on issues where a few Tories decide to rebel.


SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has made it lucid that her party will take any possibility - such as that provided by the fox-hunting issue - to remind Mr Cameron of how slender his majority is.


#Unlawful #Moroccan

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