Harriett Baldwin this week continued to press for a commission to investigate the controversial West Lothian Question. The MP repeated her question to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to discover the timeline to look at the important constitutional issue. Harriett asked for the update after MPs asked about whether the Government is planning to support her Private Member’s Bill which is currently being debated in committee in Parliament. The Deputy Prime Minister said: “It is a very difficult issue which has bedeviled Governments for a very long period of time. We don’t support the Bill but we do support the establishment of a commission looking into the West Lothian Question, which we will establish in due course. Pressed by Harriett to identify the timetable for the Commission, he added: “I think there is a need that we don’t overlap the very important work of Commission into the West Lothian Question and the equally important work that we are doing to reform the ‘other place’. “Once we have established the progress on that draft Bill which we will be publishing before the end of next month, I think we will be in a clearer position to proceed on the West Lothian Question.” Harriett commented: “This is clearly a controversial issue which I have brought to the attention of the Government through my Private Member’s Bill. “Many of my colleagues have expressed an interest in this issue and I would hope that we don’t have to wait a long time for the Deputy Prime Minister to make significant progress on the Commission. ‘In the meantime, I will press ahead with my bill and we will see what the future holds.” Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con): Further to the question from the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk (Michael Connarty), can the Deputy Prime Minister give us a little more clarity on his timetable for establishing the West Lothian commission? The Deputy Prime Minister: There is a need to ensure that we do not overlap the important work of the commission on the West Lothian question with the equally important work that we are doing on the reform of the other place. Once we have established the progress on that draft Bill, which we will publish before the end of next month, we will be in a clearer position to determine the timetable for proceeding on the West Lothian question. | Hansard