Majority of Scottish committee MPs at Westminster will be English

Most MPs on the Westminster committee charged with looking into Scottish issues will come from English seats, it has emerged.

The Sunday Post understands the make-up of the Scottish Affairs Committee will be signed off by the UK Government this week but there will not be a majority of Scottish members.

The SNP have blamed Labour for not giving up space on the committee and warned it will go down “very, very badly” in Scotland.

Pete Wishart, who became the SNP’s first-ever committee chair, said: “Why wouldn’t the House want a majority of Scottish members on the Scottish Affairs Committee?

“There doesn’t seem to be an argument against it.”

The issue will prove a running sore through the parliament as the Conservatives look to push through new rules dubbed English Votes for English Laws (EVEL) that will stop Scottish MPs voting on legislation that only affects England and Wales.

Mr Wishart added: “It’d be really poor if, on one side, you’ve got a government pursuing EVEL yet they’re not going to look generously at Scottish Affairs for Scottish MPs.

“Every time they mention English Votes for English Laws we’ll say: ‘Well, what are you doing about this committee?’

“It has to work both ways.

“We’re not making a fuss about English MPs consistently turning up to Scottish Questions which means we don’t get on the order paper to exercise the scrutiny we need to have.

“We’ve even now got ministers from other departments being drafted in to respond to Scottish questions.

“We go along with it, but something has to be given back.”

So far in this parliament, there has been one session of Scottish Questions and just 15 of the SNP block of 56 MPs submitted their names to get on the order paper and ask a question.

Mr Wishart is expected to convene the Scottish Affairs Committee for the first time next month.

The make-up of select committees is meant to mimic the balance of power in the House of Commons.

That means on every committee, the Conservatives are entitled to six seats, Labour four and the SNP one.

The Tories gave up two of their places on the Scottish Affairs Committee to the SNP, but Labour would only sacrifice one, dashing the Nationalists’ hopes of a majority.

Mr Wishart said: “There’s nothing we can do. We just have to make the case.

“It will be viewed very very badly in Scotland.”

He added: “I think Scottish Affairs should be the same as it’s always been which is that a majority of members represent Scottish constituencies.

“We’re really grateful to David Mundell at the Scotland Office who said the Conservatives were prepared to give two members up to the SNP and we were really hoping Labour would respond in kind.

“A very clear and reasonable pitch was made to them.”

In previous years, party whips have sent out-of-favour MPs to serve on low-profile committees as a form of punishment, earning comparisons with Soviet dissidents being packed off to Siberia.

Mr Wishart added: “You’d hope something as important as the Scottish Affairs Committee isn’t seen as a committee gulag where people are put for punishment.

“I fear if we don’t have a majority of Scottish members, there might be a temptation to use it as such.

“In the past there’s probably been a couple of examples where people have been dragooned on to the committee.

“I just don’t think that’s fair to the Scottish members of parliament who really want to serve on this committee.”

Despite the controversy about the committee’s make-up, Mr Wishart who claimed Jim Murphy directed a four-letter rant at him in parliament last year says he’ll chair the committee in a

different way to his Labour predecessor Ian Davidson.

The SNP’s Eilidh Whiteford refused to take her place on the committee in the last parliament after falling out with Davidson and the Scottish Parliament effectively banned the committee from holding hearings there.

Mr Wishart said: “A number of relationships need to be rebuilt.

“The last committee attempted to make itself as provocative as possible when it came to certain issues.

“The way I’ll chair the committee is through consensus and making sure everyone’s voice is heard and all the issues are taken up.”