English Grand Committee

The Legislative Grand Committee is a committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The committee can meet in three configurations:

A grand committee for Scotland, the Scottish Grand Committee, was established in 1907 to consider issues and legislation exclusive to Scotland. Grand committees for Wales (Welsh Grand Committee) and Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland Grand Committee) were subsequently established to consider issues relating to those nations. No grand committee was established for England; however, a Regional Affairs Committee was established to discuss issues relating to the Regions of England. This committee had 13 members, but all English MPs could attend and participate in its proceedings. Regional select committees and grand committees also existed for the English Regions between 2008 and 2010.

Standing orders to establish a Legislative Grand Committee were approved by the House of Commons in October 2015 as part of efforts to address the so-called West Lothian Question, an anomaly whereby MPs representing seats in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can vote on issues and legislation which only affect people in England. The idea of establishing an grand committee for England was suggested by Conservative MP Sir Malcolm Rifkind in 2007 as part of his "East Lothian Answer" to the West Lothian Question. This was echoed by the report of the McKay Commission established by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government, published in 2013.

The Legislative Grand Committee was established to facilitate the Conservative Government's policy of ensuring that legislation that only applies in England can only be enacted with the consent of MPs representing constituencies in England. This system has been dubbed "English votes for English laws".

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