MPS have scrapped a system that gave English MPs a veto over laws only affecting England.
The UK Government’s motion to remove the English votes for English laws (Evel) procedure in the Commons was approved without the need for a formal vote.
Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said: “The Government believes that the procedure has added complexity and delay to the legislative process.”
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Evel was introduced in 2015 as a new stage for laws passing through Parliament.
It allowed English, or English and Welsh, MPs to accept or veto legislation only affecting their constituents before it passed to third reading, its final Commons stage.
It was argued that Evel addressed the so-called “West Lothian Question” – in which English MPs could not vote on matters devolved to other parts of the UK, but Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland MPs could vote in Westminster on England-only matters.
But Mr Rees-Mogg said it resulted in “short-lived and poorly attended” debates that have always allowed legislation to proceed.
Labour and the SNP both welcomed the removal of Evel.
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