English Votes For English Laws

[Judgemental]

From: The Daily Telegraph by Kate McCann, Senior Political Correspondent 5:35PM GMT 22 Oct 2015

Parliament has voted for Scottish MPs to be excluded from votes affecting England in a move that the SNP warned will bring independence closer.

The changes were passed by 312 votes to 270 in the House of Commons.

Could 'Repeal' be back on the agenda.

 

[Countryman]

No.

This is not English Votes for English Laws.

This is an embarrassing compromise that frankly makes no sense at all.

What the new rules (a minor modification of Standing Orders) entail is that if a bill is deemed to be an England only, or English and Welsh only bill then an extra stage will be added, to which only English/Welsh MP's have a say and a vote.

This effectively allows them to veto any new legislation appertaining to England/E+W.

However unfortunately that is not helpful to us.
We don't want to veto any new legislation.
We are trying to repeal an existing law.

A Hunting Repeal Bill would admittedly have this extra stage.
But what could happen? Absolutely nothing - if English MP's approve the bill, and do not amend or veto it then it continues to the ordinary stages of legislation making - just like any other law.

Crucially it can not be passed without a vote of the entire house - Scottish MP's included.

The bill stops new laws being imposed on England/Wales yes, but it does not make it any easier to get rid of existing ones.
The same full majority of the whole House is still required - so the SNP (and in the past, Scottish Labour MP's - can still vote).

 

[Judgemental]

No.

This is not English Votes for English Laws.

This is an embarrassing compromise that frankly makes no sense at all.

What the new rules (a minor modification of Standing Orders) entail is that if a bill is deemed to be an England only, or English and Welsh only bill then an extra stage will be added, to which only English/Welsh MP's have a say and a vote.

This effectively allows them to veto any new legislation appertaining to England/E+W.

However unfortunately that is not helpful to us.
We don't want to veto any new legislation.
We are trying to repeal an existing law.

A Hunting Repeal Bill would admittedly have this extra stage.
But what could happen? Absolutely nothing - if English MP's approve the bill, and do not amend or veto it then it continues to the ordinary stages of legislation making - just like any other law.

Crucially it can not be passed without a vote of the entire house - Scottish MP's included.

The bill stops new laws being imposed on England/Wales yes, but it does not make it any easier to get rid of existing ones.
The same full majority of the whole House is still required - so the SNP (and in the past, Scottish Labour MP's - can still vote).

Countryman, you don't want to bother with all the guff that embodies the new arrangements.

We can simply railroad repeal through the Commons howsoever.

Folk are being far far to sensitive, 'ride roughshod over the alleged protocols' and the SNP will do as they are told.

 

[Countryman]

Countryman, you don't want to bother with all the guff that embodies the new arrangements.

We can simply railroad repeal through the Commons howsoever.

Folk are being far far to sensitive, 'ride roughshod over the alleged protocols' and the SNP will do as they are told.

There's no protocol involved JM. Under the new rules, the SNP (and any other Scottish MPs) can and still will vote.

 

[Judgemental]

There's no protocol involved JM. Under the new rules, the SNP (and any other Scottish MPs) can and still will vote.

How tiresome.