Editing West Lothian question (section)

==English votes for English laws (EVEL)==
{{Main|English votes for English laws}}
During the 2000s a number of pieces of legislation which affected only or mainly England were passed by the UK Parliament, although the votes cast by MPs were such that the legislation would not have been passed if only the votes cast by MPs representing English constituencies had been counted.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3432767.stm | work=BBC News | title=Scots MPs attacked over fees vote | date=27 January 2004 | access-date=12 November 2013 | archive-date=9 March 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060309132017/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3432767.stm | url-status=live }}</ref> The opposition [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] commissioned a report, "Devolution, The West Lothian Question and the Future of the Union", which proposed some procedural changes restricting the participation of MPs representing non-English constituencies during the passage of bills relating only to England.

While the Conservatives were in government from 2010 to 2015 in coalition with the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]], they set up the [[McKay Commission]] to look into the question. The Commission proposed that bills in the House of Commons which affected England solely or differently should require a majority vote of MPs representing English constituencies.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21920010 | work=BBC News | title=England-only laws 'need majority from English MPs' | date=25 March 2013 | access-date=20 June 2018 | archive-date=21 April 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421090546/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21920010 | url-status=live }}</ref> The Conservative manifesto for the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015 general election]] included a proposal that England-only legislation should require approval from a [[Legislative Grand Committee]] prior to its Third Reading in the House of Commons.<ref>{{cite news | title = Election 2015: PM sets out 'English votes' timetable | work = [[BBC News Online]] | date = 2015-04-24 | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32441969 | access-date = 2015-07-04 | archive-date = 18 October 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181018144247/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32441969 | url-status = live }}</ref> Having won a majority in that election, the Conservative government used a change in [[parliamentary procedure|standing orders]] in October 2015 to give MPs representing English (or English and Welsh) constituencies a "veto" over laws affecting only England (or only England and Wales).<ref name = "egc"/> Thus, a new law could no longer be imposed only on England by a majority of all MPs if a majority of English MPs were opposed. However, a proposed new law could still be vetoed by a majority of all MPs even if a majority of English MPs were in favour.

The measures were abolished in 2021, with the government saying that they had "added complexity and delay to the legislative process" and that their removal would allow all MPs to be represented equally.<ref name=":0"/> Although Labour welcomed the move, some Conservative backbenchers expressed concern that this simply recreated the previous problem.<ref>{{Cite web|title=English votes for English laws abolished in move labelled 'utter humiliation' by SNP|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/english-votes-for-english-laws-abolished-in-move-labelled-utter-humiliation-by-snp-3307056|access-date=2021-08-09|website=www.scotsman.com|language=en}}</ref> The abolishment of EVEL reverted the situation to the previous status quo, which remains today.