So many Scottish MPs in English Parliament - why?

Now I'm part Scottish and have lived in Scotland for many years but don't right now so don't go thinking I am anti-Scot as I'm not.

My question though is this. Over recent days it has been very noticeable that a great many of the Ministers in the current UK cabinet are Scottish. Gordon Brown is Chancellor, John Reid Home Secretary, Des Browne Defense Minister, Douglas Alexander Transport Secretary etc... There's more but you get the general idea.

So why when Scotland has it's own parliament now are there so many Scots in the UK parliament?

Just to repeat I have nothing against Scots, they have a solid history of being good parliamentarians it's just I wonder why there are so many of them in the current cabinet?

there was a post here not too long ago which i cant find atm saying that all the prime ministers at the time of the world wars were scottish and asking about whether the next prime minister would be scottish. i replied that tony blair himself is also scottish so no need to be waiting for the next one to come along

maybe there is something to it after all

I remember reading a book a few years ago called "The Scottish Empire" by Micahel Fry (it's on Amazon so easy to get hold of for any Victoriana fans, like myself). Here's the bumpf off the back:

"This work charts the involvement of the Scots in the British Empire from its earliest days to the end of the 20th century. It is a tale of dramatic extremes and craggy characters, of a variety of concerns, from education, evangelism and philanthropy to spying, swindles and drug running. It sets stories of Scottish regiments on the rampage, of cannibalism and of atrocities beside the deeds of heroic pioneers such as David Livingstone and Mary Slessor. It tells of little known incidents of famous men - such as William Gladstone's punch-up with a Greek bishop and of the Earl of Elgin's burning of the Summer Palace in Peking. But above all, this work tells of how the British Empire came to be dominated by and run by Scots and of how it truly became "The Scottish Empire". "

So, I consider that the high proportion of Scottish politicians might have alot to do with historic precedence. Also, people can blame the Scottish for the excesses of the Empire

It's just there's not nearly so many Welsh or Irish in English politics so what makes Scotland the odd one out? Could it be the larger influence of freemasonry?

Originally posted by justyc
there was a post here not too long ago which i cant find atm saying that all the prime ministers at the time of the world wars were scottish and asking about whether the next prime minister would be scottish. i replied that tony blair himself is also scottish so no need to be waiting for the next one to come along

maybe there is something to it after all

That post died because it was inaccurate, it claimed that Churchill was still the MP for Dundee at the time he took over as Prime Minister in 1940, which was clearly not so.

I too trace my routes back to Scotland, and still have many relatives there, but I also feel that the Scottish MPs (or should I say the present government) are having their cake and eating it by voting on purely English issues.

The current government might struggle to win some votes without the non English MPs though, so I think it highly unlikely that it will change, at least not for the next three hundred years.

I have no political allegiance whatsoever by the way, I think that every politician I have ever encountered is in it purely for personal gain.

[edit on 15-8-2006 by Englishman_in_Spain]

and David Lloyd George (WW1 PM) was definitely Welsh.

I just find it somewhat strange when the fledgeling Scottish Parliament needs all the heavyweight politicians it can get that all these people are in Westminster voting on English law and effectively disregarding their own nations interests.

You do know there isn't an English Parliament? its the Parliament of the United Kingdom (the Act of Union removed England/wales and Scotland as countries and replaced it with a new country, the United Kingdom) Your title is wrong.

Labour has a strong hold in Scotland, England is dominated by Tories, so most of their MPs are from Scotland. Labour has stayed in power so long due to the success in Scotland

[edit on 15-8-2006 by infinite]

Ok then the UK Parliament then... the question remains the same however. I merely used the word English to avoid confusion. The act of Union yes but Wales and Ireland and Scotland all have their own national assemblies / parliaments now.

England is NOT dominated by the Tories, in fact the Conservative party doesn't do much dominating anywhere in the UK these days. Neither does Labour dominate Scotland, the SNP may have something to say about that.