Claran has commented on my last post and, to clear up any confusion, I copy it here for you all:
I’m sorry Claran but you are simply wrong on this. Normally, in politics, there are shades of grey and starting positions and assumptions which allow each side to make a case and for the people to decide which they agree with. But on this, you are wrong.
Executive power is held by the party with the majority of seats in the British Parliament. That means, whatever people say, the English cannot have a minority administration in the same way as Scotland can. During the 80s the Scots complained that they consistently voted against the ruling party and now that problem has been solved for them by devolution.
But worse, England is now subject to wholly unelected people making laws.
Any MP representing a Scottish seat is elected to represent his constituents at the UK level. That means, for Scottish constituents, they will never be effected by any devolved policies that his MP later votes upon. That is obviously wrong no matter who you are.
As if to rub salt in the wound, Scottish (not their nationality, mind, just their constituency’s location) MPs have had the casting vote on issues effecting English school children, English hospitals etc.
And now (again) a Scottish Cabinet Minister is making policy which none of his constituents are ever going to consider when deciding to vote for him. Worse, his policies are the exact opposite of what his own party in coalition has in Scotland.
Why should Scottish OAPs get free public transport throughout Scotland? Why should Welsh NHS patients have free prescriptions (even in English Hospitals) and why should Scottish (and EU) students have free university education while English students must pay?
The answer to all these questions is devolution. Devolution has delivered, at least in some measure, what it set out to achieve in Scotland and Wales. But what has not been considered is that England is no different to Scotland and Wales except that it is the location of the UK Parliament.
Now, why, for goodness sake shouldn’t England have devolution too?
Yes, as you say, the UK Parliament has the power to change Sunday shopping hours in Scotland too, but they won’t for two reasons: Scotland would become more separatist if the UK Parliament started overruling its Parliament and because it would damage Labour’s already shaky position in the Scottish Parliament.
The Tories are wrong on this issue, but not in the way you imply. Actually their policy is insufficiently radical and lacks a key ingredient: logic.
July 10th, 2006 at 5:04 pm
I am not exactly sure (too much wine with lunch!), but I don’t think Scotland’s Sunday trading laws changed only after Devolution; I think we’ve had supermarkets open on Sundays since well before the ScotParl (otherwise known as the ‘wee pretendie parliament’
) came into existence - they used to pass laws at Westminster with (Scotland) in brackets before that, remember. It is beyond my understanding why laws affecting only England can’t be passed only by MPs sitting for English seats and having the relevant laws with (England) in brackets - effectively an ‘English Parliament’, but sitting (I would imagine) at Westminster where English laws were made well before the Union ever came into being.
July 10th, 2006 at 7:11 pm
Gavin,
You’ve missed the point - deliberately I am sure. Executive power and parliamentary power are not the same. If the UK Parliament wanted to legislate on Scottish Sunday trading there is nothing stopping it. If it chooses not to that is perfectly democratic.
Your party is desperately seeking to stir up feeling here but it’s all founded on tripe.
July 11th, 2006 at 8:05 am
Ciaran, can we stop talking about the UK Parliament as if it is the solution? Scotland’s parliament allows it to legislate and the people making the laws are directly elected for that job.
In the British Parliament MPs are elected for the interest of Britain and Britons. There is no reason at all to assume that any British MP would be able (through conflicting interests) to put England’s interests first.
Further, it is bizarre that anyone would think it is okay for the UK Parliament (which is overwhelmingly English) to overturn a Scottish Parliament’s law (which is far closer to the electorate). Whether the British Parliament have the power to do it or not, it is not democratic for the English: (a) to have that power; and (b) not to be able to vote on English matters only.
As you say, Executive power is different, and it is only on Executive power that I have concerns over Scottish MPs in prominent English cabinet positions and, potentially, a minority administration with Executive power. Executive power is a key point in a democracy and to have it in the hands of people who are not directly accountable is quite simply wrong.
July 12th, 2006 at 3:01 am
Ciaran, they are not stiring up the issue, it is Labour who wreaked the United Kingdom with the botched devolution settlement which wasn’t designed to stand the test of time only to get cheap political gain and leave the problems for someone else to sort out.
We no longer live in a democracy thanks to Blair.
Scot MPs should have no more right to vote on ‘UK’ issues that have been devolved to Scotland than French MP’s because they are not electorally accountible on these issues and therefor it is not democracy.
Blair has ruined the UK, its just a matter of time.