Library Note Debate on 29 October 2014: Devolution Following the Scotland Referendum This Library Note provides background reading for the debate in the House of Lords on 29 October 2014 on devolution following the Scottish independence referendum, which took place on 18 September 2014. Prior to the referendum, the Scottish Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties each published separate proposals for the further devolution of powers to Scotland in the event of a vote by Scotland in favour of remaining part of the UK. In the last month of the referendum campaign, the three parties sought to present a united front to the Scottish people through a joint commitment to a time-table proposed by the former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, which would see the parties’ different proposals combined to create a draft bill on further devolution. This draft bill would be published prior to the 2015 general election. Following the decision of the Scottish people on 18 September 2014 to vote against independence, the Prime Minister, David Cameron, established a commission led by Lord Smith of Kelvin that was to publish a heads of agreement document on Scottish devolution by November 2014. The areas where the Smith Commission might be likely to seek consensus included the further devolution of tax raising powers and control of some social security policies. In tandem with this process, a Cabinet Committee chaired by the Leader of the House of Commons, William Hague, would consider the devolution settlement in Wales and Northern Ireland, and the West Lothian question. The Prime Minster also said that his Government would announce the further decentralisation of powers to local authorities and measures to engender wider civic engagement. The resolution of the West Lothian question, also referred to as the English question, presents a number of challenges. These include the danger of creating two classes of MPs in the House of Commons, which the McKay Commission into the West Lothian question warned would undermine the stability of the Union. There would also be the difficulty of defining which bills might be classed as England or England and Wales only bills. Although William Hague has stated that the Labour Party had been invited to take part in the Cabinet Committee process, Labour has argued that the choice of a Cabinet Committee to consider this kind of constitutional change was inappropriate. The Leader of the Opposition, Ed Miliband, has argued that the issue should be considered as part of a constitutional convention instead. Edward Scott and Eren Waitzman 23 October 2014 LLN 2014/031 House of Lords Library Notes are compiled for the benefit of Members of the House of Lords and their personal staff, to provide impartial, politically balanced briefing on subjects likely to be of interest to Members of the Lords. Authors are available to discuss the contents of the Notes with the Members and their staff but cannot advise members of the general public. Any comments on Library Notes should be sent to the Head of Research Services, House of Lords Library, London SW1A 0PW or emailed to [email protected]. Table of Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1 2.1 Proposals for Further Devolution for Scotland made during the Referendum Campaign ....... 1 2.2 Scottish Referendum Results .................................................................................................................. 2 2.3 Prime Minister’s Statement Following the Referendum Result ...................................................... 2 3.1 Scottish Devolution Prior to the 2014 Referendum ......................................................................... 3 3.2 Parties’ Proposals on Further Devolution for Scotland ................................................................... 3 3.3 Criticism of the Time-Scale for the Smith Commission ................................................................... 4 3.4 Issues to be Considered by the Smith Commission .......................................................................... 5 3.5 Assessing Support for Further Devolution in Scotland .................................................................... 6 4.1 England and Resolution of the West Lothian Question ................................................................... 7 4.2 Proposals for the Resolution of the West Lothian Question ......................................................... 8 4.3 Opposition to Changing the Voting Rights of MPs for Scottish Constituencies ......................... 9 4.4 Relationship between Further Scottish Devolution and English Votes for English Laws ........ 11 4.5 Reform of House of Commons and the Impact on the Lords ...................................................... 11 5. Devolution in Wales ................................................................................................................................. 12 6. Devolution in Northern Ireland ............................................................................................................. 12 7. Widening Civic Engagement: Decentralisation for UK Cities ......................................................... 13 Appendix: Exit Polling from Scottish Referendum.................................................................................. 15 1. Introduction In October 2012, the First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmon, and the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, signed the Edinburgh Agreement which established the terms for a referendum on whether Scotland should remain part of the UK or become an independent country. The referendum subsequently took place on 18 September 2014, and resulted in a majority of Scottish voters choosing to remain in the UK. This Library Note provides background reading for the debate in the House of Lords on 29 October 2014 on devolution following the Scottish independence referendum. The referendum on Scottish independence and polling data on the prospective results of the vote have both been the subject of House of Lords Library Notes entitled Referendum on Scottish Independence1 and Polling Data on the Scottish Independence Referendum2. 2.1 Proposals for Further Devolution for Scotland made during the Referendum Campaign Prior to the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, the Scottish Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties each established separate commissions to make recommendations concerning the further devolution of powers from Westminster to Scotland in the event of a majority of Scottish voters choosing to remain in the UK. The reports of these commissions were: Scottish Liberal Democrats, Federalism: The Best Future for Scotland (October 2012); Scottish Labour Devolution Commission, Powers for a Purpose—Strengthening Accountability and Empowering People (March 2014); and Scottish Conservatives, Commission on the Future Governance of Scotland (June 2014). Each of these reports recommended a separate devolution settlement, but they all had in common the recommendation that the powers of the Scottish Parliament concerning income tax and social security matters should be increased. On 5 August 2014, the leaders of the UK and Scottish Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Labour parties issued a combined statement supporting the devolution of further powers to the Scottish Parliament in the event of a vote against independence.3 This set out that the three parties would “pledge to strengthen further the powers of the Scottish Parliament, in particular in the areas of fiscal responsibility and social security”. This pledge would be delivered through the respective manifestos of the three parties, with a guarantee “to start delivering more powers for the Scottish Parliament as swiftly as possible in 2015”. In September 2014, in the final month of the referendum campaign, the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties sought to present a united front to the Scottish people through a joint commitment to reach an agreement on a common plan for the implementation of further devolution. In a speech in Midlothian on 8 September 2014, the former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, set out a time-table for the agreement of a new devolution settlement for Scotland if the country decided to vote against independence in the referendum.4 This time-table would see a consultation process begin immediately after the referendum with the publication of a draft bill on further devolution in Scotland by Burns Night on 25 January 2015. Second reading of a new Scotland Act would then take place after the 2015 general election. On 9 September 1 House of Lords Library, Referendum on Scottish Independence, 19 June 2014, LLN 2014/020. 2 House of Lords Library, Polling Data on the Scottish Independence Referendum, 8 August 2014, LLN 2014/027. 3 Scottish Liberal Democrats, ‘Clegg Backs Cross-Party Commitment on More Powers’, 5 August 2014. 4 BBC News, ‘Scottish Independence: Brown Sets Out More Powers Timetable’, 8 September 2014. 2014, the leaders of the Scottish Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative parties issued a press release endorsing Gordon Brown’s time table.5 On 15 September 2014, the Daily Record published an article endorsed by the national leaders of the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties.6 The article, published on the front page of the paper under the head line ‘The Vow’, stated the three party leaders had agreed to support further devolution