Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

The noble Lord refers to this as a ““hallowed principle of our constitution””, but it was not applied to the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly or the Northern Ireland Assembly. My noble and learned friend Lord Wallace said, with regard to the Scottish Parliament, that there were some really arcane discussions, which he said he might reveal to us some time, that resulted in the rather unusual figure there. I know myself, and I will not weary the House, about the political considerations that drove the size of the Northern Ireland Assembly. I confess ignorance with regard to the Welsh Assembly. But that ““hallowed principle”” has not been applied by Governments drawn from both sides of this House over the past few years.