Scottish Independence is a formal repeal of the 1707 Act of Union. Unless the act makes other provision (which, to be fair, it probably will), the pre-1707 Scottish House of Lords thus comes back into being. Members of the Scottish Peerage pre-1707 are clearly members of this body. Members of the UK peerage whose titles are Scottish-based (whether hereditary or life) are in a more anomalous position, but are arguably also members. Of course, even if the UK legislation is sloppy enough to let this happen, it's likely that a newly independent Scottish Parliament will want to abolish the Scottish House of Lords fairly pronto, and replace it with either an elected Scottish Senate, or a unicameral parliament.
I find it hard to imagine that even under the present government the legislation would be so sloppy that it didn't provide for a Scottish government the Scottish people would understand rather than that which might have been preferred by James VIII.
But the question of whether Scottish MPs withdraw or are expelled from Westminster before the next UK election is complicated by the point that if they do/are, the Tories will then have an absolute majority in the rump Union. The Lib Dems might not wish to see this happen.
7th May 2015 isn't that long after October 2014. And it will take time to separate things out - it won't be instantaneous. I can see them wanting to rush things through in time for the May elections.
I find it hard to imagine that even under the present government the legislation would be so sloppy that it didn't provide for a Scottish government the Scottish people would understand rather than that which might have been preferred by James VIII.
Probably true, although officials are not infallible in this regard. I remember reading about a proposed regulation during World War II that would have made it illegal to produce any sound "transmissible by wireless" without authority. This was quietly shelved when the Parliamentary Draftsman pointed out that this was going to make it "rather a quiet war..." (Hint: they probably meant "transmitted" rather than "transmissible"...)
This makes the monstrosity of Czech Senate pop up from memory - the immediate purpose of this bizzare creature seemingly was to accomodate former members of Czecho-Slovak upper chamber... although in practice it failed to achieve even that
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Unless the act makes other provision (which, to be fair, it probably will), the pre-1707 Scottish House of Lords thus comes back into being.
Members of the Scottish Peerage pre-1707 are clearly members of this body.
Members of the UK peerage whose titles are Scottish-based (whether hereditary or life) are in a more anomalous position, but are arguably also members.
Of course, even if the UK legislation is sloppy enough to let this happen, it's likely that a newly independent Scottish Parliament will want to abolish the Scottish House of Lords fairly pronto, and replace it with either an elected Scottish Senate, or a unicameral parliament.
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But the question of whether Scottish MPs withdraw or are expelled from Westminster before the next UK election is complicated by the point that if they do/are, the Tories will then have an absolute majority in the rump Union. The Lib Dems might not wish to see this happen.
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Probably true, although officials are not infallible in this regard. I remember reading about a proposed regulation during World War II that would have made it illegal to produce any sound "transmissible by wireless" without authority. This was quietly shelved when the Parliamentary Draftsman pointed out that this was going to make it "rather a quiet war..." (Hint: they probably meant "transmitted" rather than "transmissible"...)
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