Top-up fees, Syria and 42-day detention: life without Scottish MPs

12 September 2014

MySociety, the people behind TheyWorkForYou and FixMyStreet, has published analysis which sought to find out which House of Commons votes would have gone differently had Scottish MP's votes not been counted.

Its analysis found that since 1997, only 21 votes (out of more than 3000) would have gone differently.

The only visible pattern it said was that

"English MPs seem to have a stronger civil-libertarian bent than their Scottish counterparts."

High-profile differences might have been:

  • The majority of MPs would have voted to agree that a strong humanitarian response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria was required from the international community (including the possible use of military action) in 2013
  • The majority of MPs would have voted against extending the period of time for which police can detain terrorist suspects without charge from 28 days to 42 days in 2008
  • The majority of MPs would have voted against the introduction of 'top-up fees' for university tuition of up to £3,000 a year (instead of the previous fixed fee of £1,250 per year)
  • The majority of MPs would have voted for the requirement for 80% of members in the House of Lords to be directly elected in 2003.

See its analysis for the full list.

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