The West Lothian question refers to issues concerning the ability of Members of Parliament from constituencies in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to vote on matters that affect only people living in England. This has occurred because of the devolution of power from Westminster to the Welsh and Northern Irish Assemblies and Scottish Parliament.
The question was first posed by William Gladstone in 1886. During his speech on the first Irish Home Rule bill in 1886 he said:
“If Ireland is to have domestic legislation for Irish affairs they cannot come here for English or Scottish affairs”.
It was again raised when the prospect of Scottish devolution was posed in the 1970s. On 14 November 1977 Tam Dalyell, Labour MP for the Scottish constituency of West Lothian, asked during a British House of Commons debate over Scottish and Welsh devolution:
For how long will English constituencies and English Honourable members tolerate ... at least 119 Honourable Members from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland exercising an important, and probably often decisive, effect on English politics while they themselves have no say in the same matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
He illustrated his point by pointing out the absurdity of a Member of Parliament for West Lothian being able to vote on matters affecting the English town of Blackburn, Lancashire, but not Blackburn, West Lothian, in his own constituency, due to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and its effects on Scottish local government.
The name "West Lothian question" was coined by the Ulster Unionist MP Enoch Powell in his response to Dalyell's speech: "We have finally grasped what the Honourable Member for West Lothian is getting at. Let us call it the West Lothian question."
In September 2011, it was announced that the British government was to set up a commission to examine the West Lothian question. On 17 January 2012, it was announced that this six-member commission would be named the Commission on the consequences of devolution for the House of Commons, would be chaired by former Clerk of the House of Commons Sir William McKay, and would have one member from each of the devolved countries.
Read more about West Lothian Question: Controversy, McKay Commission
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