Sewel motion

a motion made in the Scottish Parliament which remits consideration of matters devolved to the Scottish Parliament by the UK Parliament, back to the UK Parliament. The procedure is named after Lord Sewel, the junior Scottish Office minister at the time of the progress of the Scotland Act. While the UK Parliament remained sovereign over even devolved matters it was stated by him that the government could see that there could be instances where it would be more convenient for legislation on devolved matters to be passed by the UK Parliament, but that by convention that would not normally happen without the consent of the Scottish Parliament. It became established by a Memorandum of Understanding between the UK Government and the devolved administrations (the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Cabinet and the Northern Ireland Executive) and was further detailed in a series of Devolution Guidance Notes. It accordingly operates in two directions. Sometimes Westminster may require to check that the Scottish aspect has been taken into account; sometimes the Scottish Executive has taken the opportunity of sending back to Westminster matters which they could have dealt with themselves but which are thought to be better considered in a UK context. The Sewel motion itself is passed in the Scottish Parliament ‘authorizing’ the UK process. It proceeds in form as an ordinary motion.

Collins Dictionary of Law © W.J. Stewart, 2006

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References in periodicals archive

It was called "the Sewel Motion" but he'll be remembered for a completely different kind of motion now.

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In an unprecedented move, the Welsh Government plans to propose a legislative consent motion (LCM) in the National Assembly, commonly known as a Sewel motion, which would authorise the UK Government to pass legislation on a devolved area - and then vote against it.

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It is these powers which will be extended, using a Sewel motion - a parliamentary device in which the Scottish parliament allows the UK Parliament to legislate on its behalf.

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The warning came after it was revealed that the Executive were planning a 'Sewel motion' to allow the compulsory transfer of disruptive prisoners from Ulster to Scotland.

A Sewel motion means that Westminster makes a decision which is then rubberstamped by the Executive.

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MSPs are likely to use a device known as a Sewel Motion to allow Westminster to legislate on their behalf, giving a uniform law across the UK.

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MSPs will pass Legislative Consent Motions - which used to be known as Sewel Motions - allowing Westminster to pass laws on devolved issues.

The SNP had complained too many Sewel Motions were used by the last Executive.

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A further area of concern is the use of Legislative Consent, or Sewel motions. This was a mechanism initially designed so that the Scottish Parliament could agree to let Westminster legislate for the whole UK on matters which were technically devolved but on which a UK solution was deemed to be preferable.

Making devolution work: Gordon Brown's big challenge