Extract from a letter to the Clerk of the
Committee from Professor Bogdanor (6.7.98)
The comment is made in the evidence that we decided
to devolve to Scotland, without considering the effects upon the
rest of the country, in terms, for example, of representation
- the West Lothian question etc. That is true. I think the origins
of this error lie with the Royal Commission on the Constitution
- Kilbrandon - which reported in 1973. The Commission discussed
the case for devolution to Scotland, which almost all of the Commissioners
supported, without considering how it might affect the rest of
the country. Thus the message which politicians, whether Conservative
or Labour, derived from the Report was that devolution was possible
without side-effects. It has proved difficult to eradicate that
message.
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