Brown Wants "The Vow Plus"

A Fife MP and former Prime Minister's set to call for the Scottish Parliament to receive even further devolution.

The Smith Commission recommends giving Holyrood power over some income tax, some benefits, the voting age and Air Passnger duty.

Gordon Brown's wish for "The Vow Plus" comes after The Tories announced plans to block Scottish MPs from voting on so-called English only matters.

Ahead of the debate, Mr Brown said the Conservative proposals for English votes for English laws (EVEL) "put party before country."

He said: “They risk the very survival of the UK.

“I will shown the Commons debate that I have called that not one government in 150 years has found a way of reconciling EVEL with a certainty that the unity of the UK would be maintained.  They have thus rejected such proposals. 

“Under the Hague proposals, EVEL means only one thing: restricting the rights of Scottish MPs to vote in the House of Commons, even to the extent of excluding them under legislative consent motions from Budget votes on key tax issues.

“And the Conservatives have acted with huge cynicism: it was the Conservatives who proposed devolving all Scottish income tax to the Scottish Parliament, and they have now made this the pretext for giving English MPs the power of veto on the annual Budget vote on income tax rates.  They are thus seeking to embed at the heart of our constitution two classes of elected representatives – the English who vote on everything and the Scots, and over time the Welsh and Northern Irish, who are allowed to vote on only some things.

“Just when we needed a unifying period of reconciliation, the Conservatives have summarily repudiated the recommendations on EVEL by the Smith Commission that they appointed only four months ago.

“Tomorrow I will propose an alternative to this dangerous and potentially ruinous course they have now embarked upon.”

SNP MP Pete Wishart says Labour's post-referendum strategy is inconsistent: