But he did not support Tory plans to limit Scots MPs' voting powers

Opposition skewered by PM who hinted at shades of English Parliament

Mutiny: Labour leader Ed Miliband hastily rejected the PM's plan for ‘English votes for English laws’

Labour leader Ed Miliband faced a mutiny from his own MPs last night after hastily rejecting David Cameron’s scheme to introduce ‘English votes for English laws’.

He sparked a backlash by refusing to support plans to curb the rights of Scottish MPs along with the transfer of new powers north of the border.

Instead he called for an unwieldy ‘constitutional convention’ to consider changes in the wake of the historic independence referendum and which would not report back until the end of next year.

Labour sources said Mr Miliband was ‘wary’ of any plan to limit the right of Scottish MPs to vote on laws at Westminster that only affect England and Wales.

Aides fear it could neuter the ability of a future Labour government to pass laws on issues ranging from health and education to welfare and tax.

Mr Miliband said he would not sign up to anything that could be ‘used for narrow party political advantage’.

However, senior Labour MPs last night warned it was untenable for the party to oppose the move while arguing for Scotland to be given more powers.

Former minister John Denham, a close ally of Mr Miliband, said that while it was right to look at other elements of devolution, it was ‘inevitable’ that there would have to be change at Westminster.

‘As the powers of the Scottish Parliament increase, the role of Scottish MPs in determining English laws will inevitably diminish,’ said the Southampton MP.

‘If the aim is to ensure that laws affecting England alone have the consent of elected English representatives, there are many ways of doing so.’

Former Home Secretary John Reid said the current situation was ‘unfair’, adding that the issue should have been addressed when Labour established the Scottish Parliament in 1999.

He said Labour’s attempt to deal with the problem had been abandoned when voters rejected the dream of former deputy prime minister John Prescott to set up a regional assembly in the north east a decade ago.

Mr Reid said: ‘That anomaly has been left outstanding since then.

‘My own view is that it is unfair that three of the nations can decide on exclusively their own basis on legislation applying only to them but the biggest nation (England) can’t. So it has to be addressed.’

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Home rule: The Prime Minister said Scottish MPs should be banned from voting on English-only issues

Former Labour minister Frank Field called for ‘home rule’ in England and said his party also had to ditch the controversial Barnett formula – which means public spending is £1,623 per head higher in Scotland than in England.

He said: ‘The promises to Scotland ensure that the English Question will dominate May’s general election.

‘Voters will demand from all English candidates whether they support English home rule and if they support giving an additional £1,600 a year, for ever, for every person living in Scotland, over and above what they will vote for their own constituents.

THE LORD OF DEVOLUTION The Scottish grandee appointed to oversee devolution is chairman of an energy firm found guilty of ripping off up to one million customers. Lord Smith of Kelvin joined SSE in 2005 and last year was at the helm when it was hit with a £10.5million fine for mis-selling policies. He has also been forced to defend frequent price hikes and the huge profits made by the company. His considerable personal wealth has allowed him to buy his own island, Inchmarnock, off the west coast of Scotland and he also owns a vineyard in South Africa. The 70-year-old married father-of-two grew up in a rough area of Glasgow but was a bursary student at Allan Glen’s School in the city. A chartered accountant, he has held senior positions with a series of major banks including the Royal Bank of Scotland, and was chosen as chairman of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow held earlier this year. Advertisement

‘Voters will demand ‘yes’ to the first question, and ‘no’ to the second. These are the answers I shall willingly give.’

Former Labour MP Andrew Mackinlay said: ‘The case for an English Parliament is compelling if not overwhelming. Just tinkering around with a few extra powers, for so-called regional authorities and cities, will simply not do.’

Mr Mackinlay said there were numerous examples of ‘unacceptable’ measures being introduced in England with the support of Scots.

These included a doubling of road tolls on the M25 river crossing at Dartford at the same time as charges were scrapped on the Erskine Bridge on the Clyde.

The M25 toll increase was pushed through by the then Labour transport secretary Douglas Alexander, a Scottish MP.

However, Mr Miliband warned it would be wrong to rush into a new constitutional deal.

The Labour leader said there needed to be a series of regional ‘dialogues’ covering every area of the UK on how power could be dispersed from Westminster – including in England.

A lengthy public consultation was needed because the matter would not be left to the ‘Westminster elite’, he added. Among the issues Mr Miliband said should be considered are the case for a ‘senate of the nations and regions’.

But Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps accused Mr Miliband of trying to fudge the issue for political advantage.

Better Together? Ed Miliband, pictured with Alistair Darling and No vote supporters, would not condemn plans to restrict the say of Scottish MPs in English affairs. Instead his party hinted at powers for English regions

He said yesterday: ‘We need a new and fair settlement not just for Scotland, but for every part of the United Kingdom. And we want to work on a cross-party basis to make that happen.

‘But Ed Miliband’s proposal would kick this vital issue into the long grass.

2P OFF PRICE OF PETROL? The Scottish No vote could mean a 2p-a-litre dip in fuel prices at the pumps, according to the AA. Before the referendum result, uncertainty over the Union’s future led to a drop in the value of sterling. This resulted in a slight rise in the price of petrol and diesel for UK consumers despite a fall in world oil prices, the motoring group said. But with the pound already rising following the No vote, the AA is now confident of better fuel deals. Its president, Edmund King, said: ‘Scotland’s support for staying in the Union boosted the pound ... [it] rose against the dollar to more than 1.65 at one point. ‘We believe that if the pound stabilises at these higher levels we should be seeing at least a 2p per litre reduction in pump prices, which will be great news for everyone north and south of the border.’ Advertisement

‘If he is serious about delivering on our joint commitment to publish draft legislation on devolving more powers to Scotland by January, he must say whether he supports an equal settlement for England – English votes for English laws.’

Mr Miliband was also facing Labour criticism over the party’s lacklustre campaign north of the border, which failed to catch light until former prime minister Gordon Brown appeared to take charge in the final weeks.

More than a third of Labour voters are thought to have backed independence.

One shadow minister said: ‘The brutal truth is that Ed Miliband does not connect with our voters in Scotland. Until Gordon intervened we were losing them.’

The Labour leader has made 14 visits to Scotland since March and has spent the final week of the campaign visiting different parts of the country.

But his personal ratings in Scotland have remained at around the same level as in England, despite very low levels of support for the Conservatives in most of Scotland.

The Labour leader was forced to pull out of two scheduled appearances after he was shouted down during a walkabout in Edinburgh earlier in the week.