The devo pact unravels

Despite Gordon Brown warning the "eyes of the world" were on them, the three main Westminster parties clashed publicly over the fallout from the independence referendum.

Alistair Darling, chairman of the No campaign, insisted there was "no question whatsoever" the timetable outlined before the referendum would not be adhered to, with a draft bill giving Holyrood more powers over income tax and the welfare system to be published next January.

However, that was undermined by a series of spats between MPs over David Cameron's surprise plan to link the Holyrood reforms with a new mechanism giving only English MPs the right to decide on laws that affect England alone, as well as constitutional reform for Wales and Northern Ireland - a process that would be fraught and lengthy.

The Prime Minister announced the idea just hours after Scots voted by 55% to 45% in favour of maintaining the Union, a decision influenced by a "vow" to deliver substantial new powers to the Scottish Parliament after a No.

Cameron said: "The question of English votes for English laws, the so-called West Lothian Question, requires a decisive answer, so just as Scotland will vote separately on their issues of tax, spending and welfare, so too England as well as Wales and Northern Ireland should be able to vote on these issues.

"All this must take place in tandem and at the same pace as the settlement for Scotland."

Senior Tories will gather at the Prime Minister's country retreat tomorrow to discuss plans for reform at Westminster in response to the Scottish referendum result as he came under fire from his own side.

David Cameron's vow to devolve further power to Scotland without consulting the rest of the UK was labelled "disgraceful" by former leadership rival David Davis, while ex-Cabinet minister Owen Paterson said MPs had been kept in the dark about the plan.

Arriving at Labour's annual conference in Manchester this weekend, leader Ed Miliband said the constitutional debate should not be used "for narrow party political advantage".

If Scottish MPs in Westminster were stripped of the power to vote on issues controlled in Scotland by Holyrood, such as health, education and some taxes, it could undermine a future Labour government, as it could be outvoted on English laws by Conservative MPs in English seats.

Labour's shadow communities secretary Hilary Benn told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Cameron had "conflated, on the one hand, a very solemn promise that all three parties made to the people of Scotland about further devolution of power - and we must honour that promise to the timetable that was set out - with making decisions about how we are going to change the way in which our democracy works.

"One of the problems we have in our politics is people saying, sometimes: "Well ,you make a promise, you don't keep it."

"Nothing would be more corrosive than not honouring the promise made to the people of Scotland and that is why that must be done to the timetable set out."

He said Labour was "very happy" to look at greater scrutiny of English laws by English MPs - and had proposed a constitutional convention to examine reforms after the 2015 election - but said it must not lead to "two classes of MP".

However, Tory MP Rory Stewart, who represents Penrith and the Border, said: "We have to make sure that England has some of the similar powers that have now been allocated to Scotland."

The LibDem peer Lord Tyler also told Today: "We should not start with English votes for English laws in the House of Commons; what we should start from is how do you get better democracy throughout the United Kingdom?"

Responding to Benn's comments, Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said: "As the Prime Minister has said, 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."

As MPs from the three parties squabbled, Better Together released the text of a motion, signed by Cameron, Brown, Miliband and LibDem leader Nick Clegg, that will be laid at Westminster tomorrow, setting out the proposed timetable for delivering further devolution.

Although all three parties agree Holyrood should have more power over income tax and welfare, they have different views on the details.

The parliamentary motion calls on the UK Government to publish a command paper on the parties' positions by the end of October.

The Government would then "consult widely with the Scottish people, civic Scotland and the Scottish Parliament on these proposals" through November, publishing a "heads of agreement" by St Andrew's Day and draft clauses for a new Scotland Bill by the end of January 2015.

After next May's election, whoever was in power would then ensure the draft bill became law.

Darling said: "I spoke to both David Cameron and Ed Miliband on Friday when the (referendum) result was clear and there is no question whatsoever that this is the timetable, this is the commitment and we will deliver on it."

Asked about the English laws issue, Darling insisted the Scottish process was ringfenced, but said the powers of the Welsh and Northern Irish Assemblies should also be looked at, alongside greater economic powers for English cities and reform of the House of Lords.

Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander said recent legislation giving Holyrood new powers from 2016 showed the three parties' "track record" of co-operation and delivery.

Speaking in Fife, Brown also said he would personally ensure the timetable was met.

He said that to ensure the timetable on greater devolution was "locked in", he would lead a Commons debate on the issue on October 16.

The former Labour prime minister also urged Scots to come together after the referendum.

"There is a time to fight but there is a time to unite, and this is the time for Scotland to unite and see if it can find common purpose and move from the battleground to the common ground. And let us seek to find the high ground in trying to find a way forward for the future."

Fife SNP MSP David Torrance said: "Better Together told the Scottish electorate that a motion would be presented to Parliament on Friday, September 19 on giving more powers to Scotland - a promise which has already been broken. The reality for Scotland is that our timetable for more devolution is now defined by Westminster, and not ourselves. Gordon Brown's reputation is in tartan tatters."