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 and their effect on the workings of the House of Commons. In the statement made by the government when setting up the commission, it referred to the West Lothian question, a term coined in 1977 to refer to anomalies existing in the pre-devolution government of the UK.[1]
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.[2]
See main article: West Lothian question. The term "West Lothian question" refers to issues concerning the former ability of members of parliament from constituencies in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales 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 to the National Assembly for Wales, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Scottish Parliament.
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.[3] Scottish Conservative Sir Malcolm Rifkind has also written about the issue, proposing an English grand committee as a possible solution.[4] The Liberal Democrat manifesto included a commitment to address the status of England as part of wider UK constitutional reforms. The 2010 coalition agreement between the parties included a commitment to establish a commission to examine the West Lothian question.[5]
Plans for a commission were announced in September 2011 and its membership was disclosed in January 2012.
The commission was set up with six members, described "independent, non-partisan" experts. The members were:[6]
The terms of reference for the commission were:
The report of the commission was published on 25 March 2013.[2] Its main conclusions are:[8]
Sir William McKay said:[8]
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.