Labour to vote against Tory-backed devolution motion

Today, as campaigners and voters are out in force in Rochester and Strood for the by-election, a vote will take place in the House of Commons on the motion brought forward by Tory MP Dominic Raab. The motion is about devolution following the Scottish referendum – it proposes a review of the Barnett formula, and says it will ‘address the West Lothian question’.

Although the motion is co-signed by Labour MPs such as Frank Field, Kate Hoey and John Cryer – alongside Tories, Lib Dems and Ukip’s only (at the moment) MP, the Labour party have announced that they will not be voting in favour of the motion.

Instead, Labour have proposed amendments to the motion. This includes defending the Barnett formula’s allocation of resources and full representation for Scottish MPs in the UK. Miliband also calls for a full constitutional convention to look at the way power is distributed in the UK and establishing an elected Senate of Nations and Regions to replace the House of Lords.

Margaret Curran, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, further outlined why Labour are voting against the motion:

 “We will vote against the Tory backed motion on devolution today. What these Tories are proposing is bad for Scotland and they clearly haven’t learned the lessons from the success of devolution. 

“We will devolve more powers to the Scottish Parliament, and we guarantee that they will be delivered in line with the timetable we laid out during the referendum campaign. There will be a new Scotland Bill in Labour’s first Queen’s Speech next May. 

“Constitutional reform doesn’t end there – we want to replace the House of Lords with an elected Senate of the Nations and Regions. This would mean an even stronger voice for Scotland in the UK Parliament.”