England’s real democratic deficit

Do you remember what you were doing on Monday the 30th of June 2003? I do. I was in Parliament Square at the Families for Hunting Vigil, holding a big sign that said ‘Give us a honk for hunting’. A vote was going through the House of Commons to ban hunting entirely in England and Wales. It had already been banned in Scotland by the Scottish Parliament.

It was my first exposure to devolution and the ‘West Lothian’ question. I was sixteen years old and it seemed incredible to me that 72 Scottish MPs could vote on something that was absolutely nothing to do with their constituents. It’s no understatement to say that this vote was one of the major reasons that I chose a career in politics.

I became a researcher (and later Special Adviser) to David Jones MP and it was a privilege to spend five years fighting on Clwyd West’s and Wales’ behalf in Westminster.