The Commission on the consequences of devolution for the House of Commons, also known as the McKay Commission, was an independent commission established in the United Kingdom to consider issues arising from

devolution in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, devolution is the Parliament of the United Kingdom's statutory granting of a greater level of self-government to the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd (Welsh Parliament), the Northern Ireland Assembly and the London Asse ...

and their effect on the workings of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. In the statement made by the government when setting up the commission, it referred to the

West Lothian question The West Lothian question, also known as the English question, is a political issue in the United Kingdom. It concerns the question of whether MPs from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales who sit in the House of Commons should be able to vote ...

, a term coined in 1977 to refer to anomalies existing in the pre-devolution government of the UK. The commission, chaired by Sir William McKay, considered changes to the procedures of the House of Commons in relation to legislation that only affects part of the UK. It started its work in February 2012 and reported in March 2013. It recommended that future legislation affecting England but not other parts of the UK should require the support of a majority of MPs sitting for English constituencies. BBC News, ''England-only laws 'need majority from English MPs' '', 25 March 2013
Retrieved 25 March 2013

Background

The term "West Lothian question" refers to issues concerning the former ability of members of parliament from constituencies in Northern Ireland,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2 ...

to vote on matters that affect only people living in England and therefore have no direct consequence on their constituents, whilst being unable to influence matters that affect their own constituencies. Anomalies of this kind are considered to have been made more apparent by the devolution of power from

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bucki ...

to the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gov ...

, the

Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameral , house1 = , leader1_type = ...

and the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of the capital ...

. The Conservative Party manifesto for the 2010 general election included a commitment to introduce the idea of " English votes on English laws" and the party had previously explored this issue through a taskforce led by

Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...

. Scottish Conservative Sir Malcolm Rifkind has also written about the issue, proposing an English grand committee as a possible solution. The Liberal Democrat manifesto included a commitment to address the status of England as part of wider UK constitutional reforms. The 2010

coalition agreement A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

between the parties included a commitment to establish a commission to examine the West Lothian question. Plans for a commission were announced in September 2011 and its membership was disclosed in January 2012.

Membership

The commission was set up with six members, described "independent, non-partisan" experts. The members were: *Sir

William McKay Lt.-Colonel William McKay (1772 – 18 August 1832) is remembered for leading the Canadian Forces to victory at the Siege of Prairie du Chien during the War of 1812. After the war, he was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs at Drummo ...

, former Clerk of the House of Commons *Sir Geoffrey Bowman, former First Parliamentary Counsel (resigned 20 June 2012) *Sir

Stephen Laws Sir Stephen Charles Laws, is a British lawyer and civil servant who served as the First Parliamentary Counsel between 2006 and 2012. Laws read law at Bristol, graduating in 1972. He was the first in his family to go to University. After a year ...

, retiring First Parliamentary Counsel *Sir

Emyr Jones Parry Sir Emyr Jones Parry (born 21 September 1947) is a British retired diplomat. He is a former Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations and former UK Permanent Representative on the North Atlantic Council. Education ...

, former UK Ambassador to the United Nations *Prof Charlie Jeffery of the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 158 ...

Academy of Government *Prof

Yvonne Galligan Yvonne Galligan OBE is an Irish political scientist and consultant who is currently teaching at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Trinity College Dublin. Galligan is a Professor of Compar ...

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

Terms of reference

The terms of reference for the commission were:

Publication of report

The report of the commission was published on 25 March 2013. Its main conclusions are: The McKay Commission’s Report on the consequences of devolution for the House of Commons published – 25 March 2013
Retrieved 25 March 2013 *"Evidence suggests that people in England feel unhappy with present arrangements, which take too little account of their grievances. A response is necessary. *"Decisions taken in the Commons which have a separate and distinct effect for England (or England-and-Wales) should normally be taken only with the consent of a majority of MPs sitting for constituencies in England (or England-and-Wales). *"That principle should be clearly set out in a resolution of the House of Commons, and House procedure should be changed to encourage MPs to follow this approach. *"A range of procedural changes is suggested, all of which would allow the English voice to be heard. Some of them involve committees on bills, with majorities reflecting the party balance in England (or England-and-Wales). Others take the form of motions on the floor of the House. They are not a single package but a menu from which choices can be made to suit the circumstances of a particular bill. *"A select committee on Devolution should be appointed, which would (among other things) assist the House to hold UK ministers to account for their responsibilities in connection with devolution and their relations with the devolved administrations. *"Under the Commission's recommendations, no MPs would be prevented from voting on any bill, and the right of the House as a whole to make final decisions would be preserved. However, there would also be scope for additional roles for MPs from England (or England-and-Wales)." Sir William McKay said:

Our proposals retain the right of a UK-wide majority to make the final decisions where they believe UK interests or those of a part of the UK other than England should prevail. We expect that governments will prefer compromise to conflict.

References

External links

Commission Report
published 25 March 2013
The McKay Commission
official website
The West Lothian Question – House of Commons Library Standard Note
{{Devolution in the United Kingdom Devolution in the United Kingdom Constitution of the United Kingdom Constitutional commissions 2012 establishments in the United Kingdom 2012 in British politics House of Commons of the United Kingdom Politics of England Politics of Northern Ireland Politics of Scotland Politics of Wales English nationalism Government of the United Kingdom 2013 disestablishments in the United Kingdom 2013 in British politics