Looking at the election map

[andrewducker]

The Conservatives really, really should be taking an interest in The West Lothian Question.  And the other parties should be staggeringly interested in PR.

Because England is resoundingly Tory when it comes to seats, but not when it comes to votes.

Comments

[heron61.livejournal.com]

Is Scotland really that much less conservative than Britain?

[andrewducker]

From that page:
England:
Con: 40%
Lab: 28%
LD: 24%

Scotland:
Con: 16%
Lab: 42%
Lib: 18%
SNP: 19%

Scottish Nationalists aren't in England, obviously. But are lefter-wing than The Conservatives. So Scotland are less conservative than England, and somewhat more Liberal in some ways, but not in others.

[khbrown.livejournal.com]

Why did you use a small c on conservative here and a big L on liberal. Does it have any signficance?

[andrewducker]

Nope, just typing at high speed. I put a capital C on Conservatives on the previous line.

[usmu.livejournal.com]

It's amazing and ridiculous. As it currently stands (11.30 CET) a 5,7% swing in votes causes a 15% swing in seats. That is disproportionate to say the least.

[khbrown.livejournal.com]

They are interested in the West Lothian question. Strangely they don't seem to be as interested in the same as it applies to Welsh and Northern Ireland MPs also voting on 'English' matters.

If the Conservatives were more pragmatic and less ideological about the Union (i.e. of Scotland / England) then they could declare Scotland independent, whilst perhaps also declaring oil revenue English, and ensure their permanent rule in England.

[andrewducker]

If they declare Scotland independent then they don't get to claim the oil - it's international law that covers whose territorial waters go where...

[meaningrequired.livejournal.com]

I have strong emotional responses about NI voting but no intellectual words to define it =

Oieeryksueyhfkexyidr!! Fduhgjdfhg dsfh jhdsbf? Fjhsrruf hshgfhgsfd ujdhf!!!

[a-pawson.livejournal.com]

They would presumably have to create 5 or 6 regional asemblies, not just a single English parliament. I'm not sure there would be much support for yet another layer of government. There is no sense of "regional nationalism" to make such a move popular like there is in Scotland & Wales.

[andrewducker]

Why would they have to?

Why not simply say that MPs representing areas with devolved powers cannot vote on resolutions which do not apply to their constituency?

[a-pawson.livejournal.com]

Because limiting which subjects particular MP's can vote on would be seen as creating unequality. It would also pretty much prevent any Prime Minister from having a constituency in Scotland or Wales since they would not be able to vote on legislation they were proposing.

[drdoug.livejournal.com]

And the Conservatives' incentive not to do that - particularly the latter - would be ...?

[blearyboy.livejournal.com]

If you remove Scotland from the equation, there are 591 seats in the Commons, meaning a party requires 296 for a majority.

Tories have 294 seats at the time of writing, only one of which is in Scotland. So in the UK-Scotland paliament, they only need another 3 seats to claim the majority (they should be good for at least another 10 seats).

Basically, the Hung Parliament is entirely down to the Scottish and the tremor of fear they feel when they recall the Thatcher years.

Go Scotland!

[simont]

England isn't as resoundingly Tory as it looks on that map, though, because the map exaggerates the blueness due to the Tories tending to win the constituencies with larger area.

[andrewducker]

True. Looking at the Proprtional Map makes it clearer.

But they'd still be a lot better off without Scotland/Wales.