Scottish MPs Should Now Be Restricted In Commons, Say Majority Of Britons

Most Brits Think Scots MPs Should Now Be Restricted In Commons
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More than half of the British population think it is now time to restrict Scottish MPs in Westminster voting on laws that only affect England, according to a new poll.

As the debate surrounding the result of the historic referendum continues to rage on, a new survey has suggested the furore surrounding Scotland's bid for independence has had negative consequences for the Union.

Although David Cameron said that Scottish independence has been resolved “for a generation”, 30% of Britons think that Scotland will probably become an independent country in the next twenty years, the poll conducted by ComRes for ITV news reveals.

After a Ukip donor yesterday called for an English referendum on ejecting Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, the ITV poll showed 39% of Britons agree that the UK has been damaged by the referendum campaign, while 61% think that England is taken for granted in the UK.

This is more strongly felt in England where 41% believe the campaign has damaged the UK - compared to 29% in Scotland - and two thirds, 67%, think England is taken for granted (compared to 23% in Scotland).

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The results of the poll

Ukip donor Andrew Perloff, chairman of Hertfordshire-based real estate firm Panther Securities, yesterday said Scotland's rejection of independence came as no surprise given that UK taxpayers "contribute £1,600 per year per person... to these malcontents".

"Why should the Scots have a one-way bet?" he asked, adding: "Perhaps now the English can have a referendum as to whether we wish to keep the Scots in and whilst we are at it, the Irish and Welsh as well!"

In the wake of the historic vote, Ukip leader Nigel Farage demanded that Scottish MPs immediately give up their right to debate or vote on devolved English issues in Westminster.

Backing the Ukip leader's argument, two thirds of Britons (65%) agreed that the time has come for Scottish MPs to be banned from voting on laws that only affect England, the ITV poll revealed.

Farage wrote to 59 Scottish MPs asking them to commit to ending their involvement in England-only policies, saying: "We've had a lot from Scotland but the tail cannot go on wagging the dog any longer."

As the prime minister continues to face the difficult prospect of fulfilling promises he vowed in the lead up to the referendum in a desperate bid to appease Scottish voters disillusioned by the British Government, Farage has accused the PM of ignoring England to mollify the Scots.

Farage said Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband were "so lackluster" in the early part of the referendum campaign that they "panicked and made a series of promises on behalf of the English - one, to devolve more powers, but secondly they made a promise to maintain the Barnett Formula whereby the UK taxpayer spends £1,600 more on every Scot than on every English person.

"Throughout this whole devolution period [England] really have been the poor relation, we've been ignored."

The Ukip leader called for an open constitutional convention, saying "let's find a fair proper way to have a federal United Kingdom, where all four parts of the country are happy that they've got a fair deal."

"England needs a voice, England demands a voice," he said.