Some weeks ago, in anticipation of the tenth anniversary of the Dunblane tragedy, I started work on a long article documenting successive Governments’ attempts to control gun crime by bearing down hard on lawful gun ownership, and pointing out the futility and unfairness of it all.  It is enough to say that the article was not completed.  This article by Ross Clark in The Times today says much the same thing, is shorter, better written and far more interesting.

Politicos are masters at one particular manoeuvre.  When faced with an irresistible argument that they cannot answer, they create an argument they think they can defeat and then attribute that argument to their opponents.

It is depressing to see that this tactic is already gaining momentum amongst those who wish to smother the “English votes on English-only matters” issue.  It was to be expected that the overwhelmingly pro-New Labour media would help to obfuscate the issues but it is even more depressing to see individuals who acknowledge the iniquity of the present situation, accept the argument of those who wish to preserve the current status quo.

We have already suffered Lord Falconer’s attempt to present those wishing the West Lothian Anomaly to be dealt with as pressing for an English Parliament (for which, he correctly pointed out, there is not great support.)[1]  He was unsuccessful not only because he tried to pull his “fast one” whilst being interviewed by John Humphrys, but also because too many bloggers are on his case.

Now we have Peter Riddell in an article in The Times, today:

“The stumbling block to all solutions (that is to say, English votes on English-only matters) is the relative size of England, which has more than four fifths of the UK’s population and of the total number of MPs.  Creating a separate English parliament would risk undermining the Union…”

Well, there they go again…

I should have realised that that was coming when earlier in the article he commented,

“'English votes on English laws' has an appealing ring.  Now that the Scots and Welsh have devolution, it only seems fair that English MPs alone should be able to vote on Bills affecting just England….The more you look at the idea, the more flawed it looks.”

Being extremely slow-witted, I did not see the fallacy of the argument until I read further about “stumbling blocks”.  The argument presupposes that the answer to the West Lothian Anomaly is a parliament for England but of course, that is not necessarily so.  It is for that reason that I could not see the “flaws” in the justice of English votes on English laws.

It is becoming clear that once we have been manoeuvred onto ground of their choosing, we shall then be bombarded with “facts” which mitigate against the creation of the English parliament we so crave.  For instance, we are told that the Scottish Centre for Social Research shows that, while a majority agree that Scottish MPs should not vote on English laws, there is no appetite for an English parliament or for English regional devolution.  The point is that a majority agree that Scottish MPs should not vote.  That is our argument and it is why the issue must be resolved.  That “there is no appetite for an English parliament…” is the red herring.  Once the issue has been raised in the English public’s mind, the Scottish Centre for Social Research might discover a seismic change in opinion, but as I have said, that is not what the current argument is about.

Other, equally fatuous arguments are rolled out, such as “the technical problems of identifying English only laws…” and “…creating a separate English parliament would risk undermining the union…”  Well, I’ll repeat myself for clarity. We are not demanding an English parliament as the answer to the Anomaly.  However, even if we were, “technical problems” and “undermining of the Union” have come about because of Scottish and Welsh devolution not because of calls for the resolution of the Anomaly.

Finally, we have the sop of there being a case for reducing the number of Scottish and Welsh MPs.  The Scots and Welsh are over-represented in the Commons but that is another issue, not directly related to the Anomaly. Even one Scottish or Welsh MP voting for an English only law is one too many.

The pro-Anomaly politicos should be assured of one thing.  No matter how effective they are in stifling the debate or spinning the argument, if the English electorate believe that England is not receiving a fair deal, they will reap the whirlwind.

[1] At the moment.