IPPR suggests devolution rethink

30 Aug 07
Prime Minister Gordon Brown should reduce Scotland's share of UK public spending and cut the number of Scottish MPs, a think-tank has suggested.

31 August 2007

Prime Minister Gordon Brown should reduce Scotland's share of UK public spending and cut the number of Scottish MPs, a think-tank has suggested.

The Institute for Public Policy Research warns that the emergence of a Scottish National Party administration at Holyrood and a Scot as prime minister could fuel political grievances south of the border.

According to the IPPR's researchers, Guy Lodge and Katie Schmuecker, the new political landscape has implications that reach way beyond Scotland, raising questions about the relationship with England and the Union itself.

They believe that Brown, who has promised a nationwide assessment of the constitution, needs to put a more positive case for the Union and address the consequences of devolution.

In an article in PPR, Lodge and Schmuecker set out several options. One would deal with a 'core injustice' – the formula for distributing public money.

'The Barnett Formula – widely perceived as unfair, even by its namesake – is ripe for reform,' they state. They add: 'Within England, voices such as Ken Livingstone's are demanding that it be re-examined. Brown should look seriously at replacing the formula with a fairer and more transparent needs-based model.'

Another option would be to deal with the West Lothian question – Scots MPs' right to vote on English matters when English MPs have no vote on Scottish domestic issues. The researchers believe the answer is not the creation of an English parliament, but the provision of a 'new deal' for England.

This would include decreasing the number of MPs from devolved territories, making it less likely that Scottish MPs could carry votes against an English majority.

'The number of Scottish MPs has already been reduced, but they are still over-represented compared to England. Such a move would also be justified on the grounds that, since devolution, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs have less to do at Westminster.'

A more radical option would be to introduce proportional representation at Westminster. But the 'best answer to the English question' would be to address the 'real grievance in England – the curse of overbearing centralism'.

Instead of an English Parliament, which would be an act of centralisation, England would do better from a new deal in central-local relations, with powers devolved to localities and communities.

'Gordon Brown, keen to demonstrate his ability to “let go”, could make this the centrepiece of his new constitutional settlement,' the article states.

PFaug2007

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