Tom Griffin (London, The Green Ribbon): Brown's statement today marks a genuinely historic return to the constitutional reform agenda of Labour’s first term, so it may seem churlish to point to the one major issue that Gordon Brown has explicitly refused to address – the West Lothian Question.
Brown was right to point to the flaws of David Cameron’s proposed solution of English votes for English laws. A government with a majority on UK business might not have a majority on English matters and vice-versa. Nevertheless, the West Lothian Question is a genuine problem, as was acknowledged, significantly, by Menzies Campbell, who is, like Brown, a Scottish MP.
It is now clear that Brown’s response will be more regional devolution. The regions will not however, get anything like the powers of the Scottish and Welsh assemblies. Scottish and Welsh MPs will still face the accusation that they are not properly accountable for decisive interventions in English affairs like those on top-up fees and foundation hospitals.
There is also the uncomfortable fact that regional devolution was decisively rejected on the only occasion it has been put to a real democratic vote, in the North East referendum.
It is remarkable that a Prime Minister who believes in ‘devolving more power directly to the people’ should be prepared to ignore their verdict on this key point.
