Advanced talks are under way that could see powers for voters to sack criminal MSPs, such as convicted wife-beater Bill Walker, devolved from Westminster to Holyrood.
As revealed by The Courier, a Recall Bill was included in the Queen’s Speech.
It will allow a by-election to be triggered if MPs “have engaged in serious wrongdoing” and a petition is signed by 10% of constituents.
In a surprise twist, the policy will not apply to the parliaments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland’s assembly despite the fact the powers are reserved to Westminster for the whole UK.
However, senior UK Government sources said discussions have already taken place on the issue and Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said he would “do everything possible…to extend the provisions to the Scottish Parliament” if there is agreement at Holyrood.
Dunfermline and West Fife MP Thomas Docherty had brought his own private member’s Recall Bill before MPs in an attempt to have the automatic disqualification period for elected members shortened to below a year.
Although the Bill will not go that far, one of the triggers for a petition will be if an MP is convicted of an offence and receives a jail sentence “of 12 months or less”.
Despite repeated calls, ex-Dunfermline MSP Walker could not have been thrown out of Holyrood because the maximum jail term he could receive was a year one day under the required amount to get rid of him.
He eventually quit his seat a fortnight after a high-profile campaign calling for him to go accompanied his conviction for 23 domestic assaults against three ex-wives and a step daughter over a near-30 year period.
Mr Docherty last night pledged to make sure the powers were granted to Holyrood voters, whichever parliament ended up taking responsibility.
He said: “This is a victory for the campaign in west Fife after the Bill Walker scandal but there is still a question mark about devolved bodies.
“I will be writing to Alistair Carmichael to ask for an update as to how these talks are progressing.”
Mr Carmichael said: “I have written to the Scottish party leaders this morning asking them to come forward with proposals to see if there is a consensus on how this could be dealt with in the Scottish Parliament, which has been an issue in the not-too-distant past.”
Dundee MSP Joe FitzPatrick said: The Scottish Government has today re-iterated to the UK Government its request that the Scottish Parliament should be given legislative competence over the recall of MSPs.”