William Hague vote deal a ‘stitch-up’, says Labour

Legislation that affects England but not other parts of the United Kingdom should require a majority of votes from English MPs, the core proposal from the British government to offer extra powers to England suggests.

However, the package, published on Tuesday in the wake of the Scottish independence referendum by the leader of the House of Commons, William Hague, was immediately condemned by Labour as "a stitch-up" and as "unworkable" by constitutional experts.

Four options have been put forward: three of them from the Conservatives’ side of the coalition, which has just one Scottish MP, and one from the Liberal Democrats, who hold 11 Commons constituencies there.

The most far-ranging of the Hague measures would bar Scottish but also Northern Irish MPs from any role in English and Welsh Bills and limit the right to vote on so-called England-only Bills to English MPs.

Secondly, English MPs, or English and Welsh MPs, could have the right to debate legislation during committee and report stages, where amendments are tabled and agreed, though all 650 MPs would be able to vote on a final Bill.

Thirdly, only English MPs, or English and Welsh MPs, could be given the right to have an effective veto on legislation halfway through its Commons passage, according to the command paper published by Mr Hague.

Fourthly, the Liberal Democrats propose a “grand committee” that would be able to veto legislation, but its membership would proportionally represent the vote-share held by parties at the last election, not the number of MPs each of them got elected.

Labour, which fears losing the voting power of its Scottish MPs, boycotted the discussions led by Mr Hague, refusing to submit proposals to it. Criticising Labour’s action, Mr Hague said it was “hostile” to change.

However, Prof Paul Cairney of the Centre on Constitutional Change said Mr Hague's plans are fundamentally flawed.