David Cameron has reiterated his belief that English MP’s should be the only ones allowed to decide on English legislation.
He’s got the right idea in principle but the wrong solution. He is absolutely correct in saying that MP’s with constituencies outside of England should be barred from interfering in English matters in the same way that MP’s elected outside of England are barred from interfering in devolved matters in their own constituencies. However, English Votes on English Matters (EVoEM) is a ridiculous and unworkable proposal.
The Campaign for an English Parliament has produced a critique on EVoEM and openly invited any and all Tories or supporters of the policy to come forward and explain how it will work. Nobody has taken them up on this offer for the simple reason that EVoEM will not and can not work.
I really hope that EVoEM is a simple ploy to get Labour and Lib Dem MP’s to demand an English Parlaiament be set up to fix the massive constitutional and practical mess that EVoEM will cause because the alternative – that they think the policy will actually work – shows that the Tories are not only naive but bloody stupid.
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