MALVERN MP Harriett Baldwin’s attempt to solve the controversial West Lothian Question is set to return to the floor of the House of Commons next month.
The term relates to the constitutional anomaly created by the devolution of power to Scotland.
There have been concerns that MPs in Westminster are not able to vote on certain matters – such as education policy affecting Scotland – but their Scottish colleagues are able to vote on the corresponding English legislation.
Notables such as William Hague and former Scottish secretary Malcolm Rifkind have attempted to raise the issue in the House in the last decade. The Conservative party manifesto had aimed to address it, but it was replaced in the coalition agreement by a plan to hold a commission.
In February, Mrs Baldwin’s Legislation (Territorial Extent) Bill won enough support during a debate to pass through to a second reading and the committee stage.
It has now passed through this without amendments, and is set to come before the Commons again on Friday, June 10.
Mrs Baldwin has nicknamed her Bill “The English Question”.
She said: “I am pleased that the Bill has passed this latest hurdle and I am grateful for the support of my colleagues to get this far. Although the Government does not support my Bill, I have a great deal of support among colleagues and I hope that we will be able to make progress on the floor of the House of Commons.”
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