The call for British MPs to be dual mandated only applies to England so that in comparison with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland we are still to be short-changed. How much more credible this answer to UK devolution would be if those that support dual mandated MPs for England also supported this solution in the other devolved territories, but they do not. So the 85% of British taxpayers who live in England will continue to have to support the salaries and pensions of the 297 extra MPs [and their attendant bureaucrats] imposed on them without their permission, since they were never asked, since 1997.
Scilla Cullen
Chairman, Campaign for an English Parliament

Dear John,

If you had your way and became a dual-mandate MP, would you be able to seperate your duties effectively?

In Scotland, an MSP has one concern – Scottish interests. As a British MP, would you be able to put English interests first – maybe even to the detriment of Britain or the Celts – on “English” days in the same way that an MSP does in Scotland every day?

I don’t think this is possible and that is just one of the reasons why English Votes on English Matters will not work.

If we are to have devolution in England it has to be at least on equal terms with Scotland. This means an English Parliament and Executive consisting of parliamentarians elected by the English to represent English interests in an English government.

Let me put it another way – say you were presented with a bill that imposed a tax on Scottish imports into England that would make every family in England £1,000 per year better off but made every family in Scotland £1,000 per year worse off, how would you vote? If the reverse were presented to an MSP, they wouldn’t think twice about endorsing it because they are only interested in Scotland.

I’m glad you take the West Lothian Question seriously and I’m glad that you seem to genuinely want to address it, I just wish you’d support parity for England instead of a constitutional bodge.

Ken Clarke must be stopped (as usual).

Wendy Alexander, the Labour Parliamentary Group Leader in Scotland, has just called for a referendum on Scottish independence.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2246882.0.Alexander_backs_independence_referendum_in_shock_Uturn.php
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/latestnews/Wendy-39Bring-it-on39.4049804.jp

We’re still trying to work out whether this has been backed by Brown, (most probably as Wendy is his glove puppet in Scotland), whether the rest of the Labour party in Scotland thinks this way and how this fits in with any Labour strategies. It looks like a panic measure as SNP support grows and the implications of the debacle in the English local elections sink in.

Since Labour has always been vehemently against an independence referendum and as they’ve just set up the Calman Commission with the Lib-Dems and the Conservatives to look at all aspects of improving devolution except independence we’re all delighted but puzzled in the nationalist camp.

A Tory absolute majority based almost entirely on English votes would reverse the present situation where the Labour majority is bolstered by Scottish and Welsh votes. As Derek says, this would cause massive antagonism with the Scots, in particular; so that our best hope for an EP for a while would probably be a pro-independence vote in a Scottish referendum. Here’s a little prediction: Cameron will do a deal to allow the Scots a referendum at some point after the 2012 Olympics. He won’t want to risk the UK breaking up humiliatingly just before it’s due to host the biggest sporting event on earth; so the SNP will be promised a vote so long as they don’t push for independence before then.

Not a good reason for voting Tory; but maybe it will be the fastest route to an EP, albeit at the cost of any continuing Union.

David, aka Britology Watch