West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin’s attempts to solve the controversial ‘West Lothian’ question took a further step forward today in the House of Commons. The MP won a vote to advance the bill into committee, completing the next hurdle in her efforts to address the complex constitutional issue. After more than three hours of debating, the bill secured enough votes to continue its passage through the Commons. The bill – the Legislation (Territorial Extent) Bill – seeks to clarify the impact of laws affecting England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It today completed its second reading and will now progress to the committee stage. Traditionally there have been concerns that MPs in Westminster are not able to vote on certain matters – such as education policy affecting Scotland – but their Scottish colleagues are able to vote on the corresponding English legislation. This issue – named the West Lothian Question by renowned Scottish MP Tam Dalyell – has been a controversial debate since the time of Gladstone. The Conservative Party manifesto aimed to address this issue but it was replaced in the Coalition Agreement by a plan to hold a Commission. Both current Foreign Secretary William Hague and former Scottish Secretary Malcolm Rifkind have attempted to raise this issue in the House in the last decade. Former shadow Home Secretary David Davis is one of the signatories of Harriett’s Bill. Harriett commented: “This is an important day for those who have battled to find a solution to the West Lothian Question. “My bill aims to take the first steps towards clarifying legislation in all four countries and I am grateful that colleagues were able to support this bill and allow it to continue into committee. “This is a huge hurdle to clear but there are clearly many important issues which we will discuss over the coming months. “In the meantime, I look forward to consulting with the Government to see what steps can be taken to try and give my bill a smooth passage and maybe it will actually become law. “For constitutional experts, this is another important moment and from the level of debate in the chamber, I am sure there is much more that needs to be discussed. “I am pleased I am able to make this small contribution to decades of debate concerning how our laws work across the whole of the UK.”