The unfolding debate on greater devolution for Scotland has not been exactly exemplary for its statesmanlike behaviour.

A neutral Scottish observer (if any are left after the referendum debate) could be forgiven for concluding that nearly every party is acting in self-interest.

Labour's decision to boycott talks in a Cabinet committee on English votes for English laws (EVEL) is being widely interpreted as an attempt to kick the whole issue into the long grass until after the General Election because it threatens the clout of their Scottish MPs.

The Tories wish to push the issue to the fore precisely because they have so much party political advantage to gain from it. By insisting on a Commons vote before the end of the year, they will force Labour to vote against, giving them a convenient stick with which to bash their opponents in the run up to the election.

Meanwhile the SNP in the shape of Alex Salmond are pre-empting the broader Smith Commission talks on further Scottish devolution by trying to claim that Scottish voters will be "betrayed" by the UK parties on greater Scottish devolution and raising the possibility of another independence referendum. The SNP are also suggesting for their own tactical advantage that the Scottish people were led by the three UK parties to expect devo max, which is untrue. So, depressingly, it is back to politics as usual.

Yesterday's Commons debate was dominated by the EVEL question, with Gordon Brown saying that restricting the voting of Scottish MPs would mean the destruction of the Union. Labour have described the Government-led talks on EVEL as "a closed-shop stitch-up".

Matters of further devolution within the UK, whether EVEL or any other aspect, should certainly not be horse-traded by the political parties around a Whitehall conference table. Labour's proposal of a UK constitutional convention, encompassing voters and civic society groups from all over the UK, is a much more sound idea, but there is no good reason why it should not begin its deliberations now, instead of after the election. The Tories, were they determined to be truly inclusive and constructive, would adopt that proposal now in place of their Cabinet committee talks.

Labour and indeed Scottish MPs in general are undoubtedly in a difficult position over the issue of EVEL but it cannot be ignored. There is a fundamental question of fairness at stake. It would do Labour more good in the long term to seize the initiative on this issue, rather than be blamed for blocking it. Equally, the Conservatives are betraying their own rhetoric on fairness by trying so blatantly to hijack the issue for their own ends.

Above all, the timetable for greater Scottish devolution must not be impeded and there were further assurances yesterday that it would not be: all the parties must now stick to that commitment. The referendum has opened up serious matters of UK-wide devolution for debate, but that must not be allowed to derail the timetable for meaningful change in Scotland.