Devolution (Scotland Referendum)

Henry Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 14th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

I acknowledge the hon. Gentleman’s point. Much of what we must do is make what we have already work better rather than invent new tiers of government anywhere in the UK.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

[Mr Hague]

I will first answer the point made by the hon. Member for Blackley and Broughton (Graham Stringer).

There is a legitimate demand for greater autonomy at a local level. We have an excellent record in recent years of devolving powers to the cities and regions, including to Manchester. I, like other members of the Government, hope that more can be done on decentralising power from Whitehall. In this Parliament, we have introduced city deals. Eight core deals were signed in the first wave, and we are close to finalising the conclusions on the second wave—18 of the 20 contracts have been signed. We have delivered local growth deals, and £2 billion will be devolved per year to local enterprise partnerships from next year. Many hon. Members would like more such progress, building on the excellent work of the Department for Communities and Local Government. That is part of what we need to do in the United Kingdom, including in England, but it does not resolve the basic issue of fairness that my hon. Friends have raised regarding decisions on legislation affecting England.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Hague]

These issues are not mutually exclusive. It is entirely possible to believe that there should be greater autonomy at the local level, including for the hon. Lady’s constituents and mine. However, if she is talking, as she did at the beginning of her intervention, about what people feel, I think she will have to acknowledge that they also feel, whether it be in Yorkshire or County Durham, that Scottish Members should no longer be voting on matters that have been devolved to Scotland. That is the local opinion.

[Henry Smith]

The Leader of the House is absolutely right that we should have English votes for English Members of Parliament on English affairs. With regard to further devolution to the localities within England, I would ask that we do not just talk about cities but the historical counties of England, which deliver a lot of responsibilities already.

[Mr Hague]

Yes, absolutely. Some of the city deals already signed include, for instance, parts of Lancashire outside the cities, so this is a very important point. Localism and decentralisation are crucial to revitalising our cities.