ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday - Friday plus breaking news updates Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive lunchtime headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts, by email Update newsletter preferences

Londoners want Scottish MPs to be banned from voting on issues affecting only England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a poll reveals today.

The YouGov survey found that by more than two to one — 58 per cent to 26 per cent — they believe that MPs representing constituencies north of the border should not have a say in the Commons on matters which have no impact on Scotland, given the moves to devolve more power to the Edinburgh parliament.

The findings come only weeks before Burns Night on January 25, by which time the Government is due to put in place legislative proposals for significant Scottish devolution, including on tax.

It will reinforce the view of many Conservative backbenchers that a system of “English votes for English laws” should be introduced at Westminster.

Tanya Abraham, of YouGov, said the poll showed that when the West Lothian Question — why Scottish MPs can vote on English matters but not vice versa on devolved issues —“comes to the West End, the results are clear”.

“Londoners don’t think that Scottish MPs should be allowed to vote on issues that don’t affect Scotland,” she said. “Only among Labour supporters did we find support for the status quo where Scottish MPs are able to vote on issues that only affect England and Wales. This is not surprising given the number of MPs Labour currently has north of the border.”

At least four out of five Tory and Ukip supporters in London do not think that Scottish MPs should be allowed to vote on issues that don’t affect Scotland.

This contrasts with around two out of five Labour backers who share this belief, and 60 per cent of people planing to vote for the Liberal Democrats at next May’s general election.

Such a landmark restriction on Scottish MPs is likely to most negatively affect Labour, which won 41 seats at the 2010 election, although recent polls suggest that many of those could be lost to the Scottish Nationalists next year.

David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg signed a pledge to devolve extensive new powers to Scotland as the referendum on independence in September appeared to be on a knife-edge. In the end, Scots voted by 55 per cent to 45 per cent to remain in the UK.

As part of the now looming constitutional changes, the Conservatives are arguing that Scottish MPs should be banned from voting on laws that only impact on England, Wales and Northern Ireland as “a fundamental issue of fairness”. But former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott has accused Mr Cameron of seeking to set up a form of “English Parliament” to try to seize more power.

Limiting the voting rights of Scottish MPs could dent Labour’s control over a Westminster Parliament even if it won an overall majority in the Commons if this was dependent on seats north of the border.

After the polls suggested that the SNP may make major gains at the general election, the party’s former leader Alex Salmond has announced that he will stand for the Westminster parliament.

His decision comes despite attacking other political leaders as “team Westminster” during his independence campaign, which was based on a financial plan that now looks deeply flawed given the collapse in the price of oil.