Supplementary memorandum submitted by
the Campaign for the English Regions
As you know, I accompanied other members of
the Campaign for English Regions, who gave evidence to your committee
in Newcastle earlier this year. I agree with the further evidence
they have submitted and the general statement that the only long
term solution to the dilemmas posed by the "English Question"
resides in the introduction of elected regional government within
a new UK constitutional settlement.
However when we met, there was some discussion
of the "West Lothian Question" and I wondered if it
would be helpful just to reiterate some points. The idea of an
asymmetrical state is not a problem and until last year's elections,
with the exception of Northern Ireland, the Party which formed
the Government of the UK, also formed the major or major coalition
partnership in the Government of Scotland and Wales. However the
principle of devolution will be tried and tested by the minority
SNP Administration in Scotland and the Welsh Labour-Plaid coalition
and subsequent developments to strengthen both assemblies.
One thing that would mitigate clashes within
this devolution settlement is a fairer representation of not only
the differences between member countries of the United Kingdom
but the similarities. Cohesion is built on recognising communality
as well as conflict.
The voting systems to be used in the English
regions would have been, in order to pass the test of a referendum,
more pluralistic. The precedent had already been set in the Greater
London Assembly, which although judged to be local government
by some is actually an English region with its elected governance,
Wales and Scotland. However Westminster elected in the House of
Commons and non elected in the House of Lords fails to represent
the voting strength of the political parties in the UK.
The House of Commons depends on an electoral
college where each constituency contributes all its vote for government
and on legislation to one MP whether or not they have a majority
mandate and neglecting large minorities within each constituency.
So we have results which give a false snapshot of the country
in question. There were always Conservative Voters in Scotland
and Wales but they were not represented among the parliamentary
representatives and continue to have a very small voice. The PR
system in Scotland has allowed the actual strength of the Conservatives
to be represented in the Scottish Parliament and similarly in
Wales.
It was the late Robin Cook, a Scottish MP representing
a Scottish constituency, who identified the difficulty of having
a Scottish MP become a Minister dealing with devolved matters
such as Education and Health. He also just before he died identified
the fact that there were more Conservative voters than Labour
voters in England as a whole although the picture painted by the
first past the post system was over 90 MPs majority for Labour
over Conservative.
We cannot solve what is also called "the
English Question" by artificially exaggerating the difference
between the nations of the UK state. The Parties need to come
together and there should be input from citizens as well as politicians,
perhaps in the form of an elected UK constitutional convention,
such as Australia used to decide whether to establish a Republic.
A more proportional system would for the first time allow Surrey
Labour voters, urban Conservatives and Liberal Democrats wherever
they exist to be represented in a more representative UK parliament.
It would dilute the differences between party representation in
urban and rural areas, and help to soften the distinctions rather
than aggravating them between the nations of the UK.
On the replacement of the House of Lords, elections,
on a proportional basis from the English Regions, Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland, are likely to produce a better picture than
the current unrepresentative gearing towards London and the South
East discovered in research undertaken by the Campaign for the
English Regions. Such an Upper House or Second Chamber may help
to dilute the problem but risks casting light on the remaining
dilemma in the House of Commons. Ministers representing constituencies
where their remit is dealt with in a devolved assembly can be
justified and this problem will not entirely be eliminated. There
is a possibility, however, that any governing Party will under
a new voting system be able to draw on MPs, to become Ministers,
from a greater geographical spread.
Mary Southcott
May 2008
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