[A-List] Scotland: constitutional deform

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Proof positive that the Scottish Westminster MPs of the UK ruling party are,
structurally, the most reactionary and state-bound within the UK. Since
Scottish Labour MPs were already pretty reactionary, this is particularly
acute, and an occasion for some serious thinking on the part of all those
interested in preserving and enhancing the role of the Scottish parliament.
Now more than ever England needs a socialist party capable of addressing the
national question with respect to England as much as Scotland, Wales and
Ireland.

-----

Labour MPs give Holyrood cousins food for thought  MICHAEL SETTLE, Chief
Political Correspondent
The Herald, December 08 2003

SCOTTISH Labour MPs are threatening a constitutional row with MSPs in
Edinburgh by using the reopening of the Scotland Act to try to change how
Holyrood members are elected and reduce the parliament's PR element to a
rump.

The various stages of the new bill, which seeks to keep the 129 complement
at Holyrood, will also be used by the Conservatives to showcase the
government's "ducking and diving" over the West Lothian question, as they
see Tony Blair relying more and more on his Scottish MPs to push through
English-only legislation.

Controversially, for many politicians north of the border, just how the
Scottish Parliament is elected is still determined by Westminster. The
Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Bill is due to have its first major
Commons debate, its second reading, in January.

Scottish Labour MPs could approach Alistair Darling, the Scottish secretary,
in the new year about their preferred option.

Ian Davidson, the Labour MP for Glasgow Pollok and chairman of the Scottish
Labour group at Westminster, who is fervently against PR, said he felt there
was "an overwhelming majority" of his colleagues in favour of
co-terminosity.

He said the "most popular single view" to date was to have 129 MSPs but to
have them based on the new Westminster constituencies of 59. This would mean
having two MSPs per constituency, totalling 118, with a top-up list of 11.

One suggestion, mooted by Brian Donohoe, the Labour MP for Cunninghame
South, is to have one man and one woman per constituency.

Crucially under this plan, one suggestion is to have the 118 MSPs elected by
first-past-the-post. At present, Holyrood has 73 first-past-the-post members
with the rest, 56, coming from the PR top-up list.