West Lothian Question

The West Lothian question, also known as the English question, refers to whether MPs from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, sitting in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, should be able to vote on matters that affect only England, while MPs from England are unable to vote on matters that have been devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly. The term "West Lothian question" was coined by Enoch Powell MP in 1977 after Tam Dalyell, the Labour MP for the Scottish constituency of West Lothian, raised the matter repeatedly in House of Commons debates on devolution.

In 2011 the Government of the United Kingdom set up a commission to examine the question. The Commission on the consequences of devolution for the House of Commons, chaired by former Clerk of the House of Commons Sir William McKay, published a report in 2013 which proposed various procedural changes, including that legislation which affects only England should require the support of a majority of MPs representing English constituencies ("English votes for English laws"). Following the election of a Conservative government in the 2015 general election, new parliamentary procedures and a Legislative Grand Committee were enacted.