MARCUS FYSH COLUMN: Thank you Scotland for saying NO!

THE Conservative's would-be MP for the Yeovil Constituency, Marcus Fysh, has said that he is very happy that the UK “remains a United Kingdom.”

Mr Fysh, who will be standing for the Tories at next year’s General Election in Yeovil, said he was very happy this morning (Friday, September 19, 2014) when he discovered the result of the Scottish Referendum vote and that the "No Campaign" had been victorious.

“I would like to thank Scotland for voting to remain part of our family,” said Mr Fysh who is writing a regular column for the Yeovil Press.

“Let's build on the high level of political engagement the independence campaign has engendered.

“We need to work together now to heal divisions in Scotland, and we need mature reflection on what it means for constitutional reform in the rest of the UK.

“We need reform and rebalancing of powers for the different nations in the UK. And we need English votes for English laws, as has been part of our Conservative manifesto and the Prime Minister has this morning reiterated.

“It's unacceptable that Scottish Westminster MPs vote on issues like education and health in England, which they can't vote on with respect to Scotland because powers in those areas have been devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

“Now that further powers may be devolved on aspects of income tax, spending and welfare, it is even more important that we use existing English MPs, and not those from Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, to govern decisions on those matters for England on a devolved basis.”

Mr Fysh added: “Let's get good legislation for this though, and properly examine exactly what powers would be best to devolve in order to enhance civic and economic performance across the UK.

“We need to consider important and complex matters such as whether a more federal arrangement with more tax independence should include devolved borrowing powers, for example, and how that would be implemented technically.

“We must also consider boundary changes as part of this reform process. Currently there are on average 57 thousand electors in Welsh constituencies, 65 thousand electors in Scottish, and 72 thousand electors in English. That means English votes are worth less than others in the UK right now, and it is very wrong.”

Mr Fysh continued: “Local people's votes are worth even less because there are 83,000 electors in the Yeovil Constituency. That means they are worth 22% less than Scottish votes and 31% less than Welsh votes.

“I think it is a disgrace that Nick Clegg's LibDems stopped boundary changes dealing with that unfairness last year.

“I am happy that the Prime Minister has tasked William Hague with taking constitutional reform forward - he is a safe pair of hands. I would like to counsel more haste than speed, and sticking to principle though.

“English votes and their value must not be held to ransom by either Labour or Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats.

“Labour clearly have a potential conflict of interest which I hope they will act sensibly around.

“I am sorry to say Nick Clegg's LibDems have shown clearly how they put their own interests ahead of those of the electorate when it comes to how much votes are worth.”

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