Plans to scrap English votes for English laws
By Lucy Webster
Political reporter, BBC News
- Published
A system which gives English MPs an effective veto on laws which only affect England should be scrapped, the government says.
Michael Gove said the English votes for English laws (EVEL) procedure had "not served our Parliament well".
EVEL was introduced in 2015 to correct a perceived imbalance in the powers of English and Scottish MPs.
MPs will vote next week on removing a requirement for a majority of English MPs to approve relevant laws.
Speaking at Cabinet Office questions on Thursday, Mr Gove said his office, alongside that of Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg, had been reviewing the process.
West Lothian Question
"The procedure has been suspended since April 2020 and having reflected, the government believes it has not served our Parliament well and that removing it would simplify the legislative process," he said.
"It's a fundamental principle that all constituent parts of the United Kingdom should be equally represented in Parliament," he added.
EVEL was established to address the so-called West Lothian Question, in which English MPs could not vote on matters devolved to other parts of the UK, but Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs could vote in Westminster on England-only matters.
"Quasi-English parliament"
Under the procedure, English, or English and Welsh, MPs could accept or veto legislation affecting their constituents before it passed to third reading, its final Commons stage, where it would be voted on by the whole House.
EVEL has been opposed both by Labour and the SNP. When it was introduced, Labour argued the Conservative government, which was dominant in England, was using the procedure to "manufacture" a larger majority.
Speaking on Thursday, the SNP's Pete Wishart said the process created a "quasi-English parliament squat" in the UK Parliament.
Mr Rees-Mogg said: "I am delighted to suggest it's a victory for the SNP, but it's also a victory for people of my way of thinking about our constitution, and this is important because, within this House, we are the Parliament of the whole of the United Kingdom."