November 30, 2005
You're nearly there Mr. Heffer, now do the decent thing
Simon Heffer in the Telegraph:
It should not surprise anyone that one of the most fervent advocates of Scottish MPs being allowed to vote on matters that do not concern them is Mr Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and, as far as we know, the next Prime Minister. Whereas decent men are somewhat embarrassed by this state of affairs, and stupid ones claim that the whole constitution would unravel if the present arrangements were unpicked, Mr Brown, as befits one of his titanic arrogance, is far more complacent. He simply acts as though nothing worthy of comment were amiss. And, if forced to concede that the English might have a point about being so discriminated against, his attitude can broadly be summed up as this: "We're in charge, you can like it or lump it, and quite frankly, in the interests of getting our own way in parliament, we'll carry on doing this for as long as we can get away with it." (If I am wrong about that - and my précis of his view is based on several private conversations with him over the years - then I am sure he will quickly put the record straight.) Mr Brown, of course, has seen the writing on the wall. If he is Prime Minister in the next parliament with an even smaller majority, he may depend entirely on the unconstitutional votes of his fellow Scots in order to govern at all.Read it all, even though Mr. Heffer draws the wrong conclusion at the very end of the article when he calls for English votes on English matters. To harp on about equality and then propose a less than equal settlement is an interesting proposition. I wonder what particular interests prevent Mr. Heffer from seeking full equality for the English. A decent man would be somewhat embarrassed by this state of affairs.
Via Hutspur.
