I was reading the various articles about plans for English Votes for English Laws- excluding MPs from non-English seats from voting on devolved matters when I read of some extreme Tories suggesting that in future no such MP could be Chancellor or PM when a penny dropped.
If there is to be an English legislature via Grand Committee or by a more formal methiod and this leads to an English First Minister and cabinet, the entire structure of the current British Cabinet will need to be rewritten.
This is the current cabinet:
Prime Minister
Deputy
Leader of the UK Parliament
First Lord of the Treasury
Minister for the Civil Service The Rt Hon. David Cameron MP
Deputy Prime Minister
Lord President of the Council The Rt Hon. Nick Clegg MP
First Secretary of State
Leader of the House of Commons The Rt Hon. William Hague MP
Chancellor of the Exchequer The Rt Hon. George Osborne MP
Secretary of State for the Home Department The Rt Hon. Theresa May MP
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The Rt Hon. Philip Hammond MP
Lord Chancellor
Secretary of State for Justice The Rt Hon. Chris Grayling MP
Secretary of State for Defence The Rt Hon. Michael Fallon MP
Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
President of the Board of Trade The Rt Hon. Vince Cable MP
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions The Rt Hon. Iain Duncan Smith MP
Secretary of State for Health The Rt Hon. Jeremy Hunt MP
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
Minister for Faith The Rt Hon. Eric Pickles MP
Secretary of State for Education
Minister for Women and Equalities The Rt Hon. Nicky Morgan MP
Secretary of State for International Development The Rt Hon. Justine Greening MP
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change The Rt Hon. Ed Davey MP
Secretary of State for Transport The Rt Hon. Patrick McLoughlin MP
Secretary of State for Scotland The Rt Hon. Alistair Carmichael MP
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The Rt Hon. Theresa Villiers MP
Secretary of State for Wales The Rt Hon. Stephen Crabb MP
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport The Rt Hon. Sajid Javid MP
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Rt Hon. Elizabeth Truss MP
Chief Secretary to the Treasury The Rt Hon. Danny Alexander MP
All of the members highlighted in red would lose all or part of their reposnibilities and would need to have counterparts in the English Executive.
EIther these posts would need to be reduced and combined to reflect the limitations on their purview, or specific representation from devolved administrations would need to be introduced, or English Ministers with devolved powers would be sitting in cabinet for the UK, but their devolved counterparts would not.
Maybe the role of the Ministers for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales should be upgraded to senior positions, and rather than being 'responsible for the other nation’s affairs, they should represent their Executives As Minister Delegate from the devolved administrations together with a Minister for England performing the same duties for the English Executive.
The Cabinet would then consist of
Prime Minister
Chancellor
Foreign
English Secretary
Scottish Secretary
Welsh Secretary
Northern irish Secretary
Home (Rump plus other non-devolved internal issues)
Defence
Business
Women and Minorities
International Development
Energy and Climate Change
And an English Executive for each of the arenas reserved to the English legislature.
Interesting times ahead?