INSENSITIVITY and indifference to the calls for greater devolution in all parts of the country was the greatest threat to the Union, William Hague insisted as he pressed the case for English votes for English laws.

Stressing that the vow to give more powers to Scotland after the No vote in the referendum would be honoured, the Commons Leader told a Commons debate yesterday the time had now come to address the matter of devolution in England.

"I know there are MPs who argue that to address this question is to somehow put the United Kingdom itself at risk but I say to them, the United Kingdom is in greater danger if the legitimate arguments and expectations of English decision-making, on decisions affecting only England, are not responded to. Insensitivity and indifference is the danger to the Union in all nations including in England," he argued.

In an early Point of Order, Angus Robertson, the SNP leader at Westminster, complained that the debate should be about the future of devolution in Scotland and not be "sidetracked by Tory backbenchers" into one about English votes for English laws (EVEL).

But Speaker John Bercow accused the Moray MP of being "a tad precious", saying the debate was a general one about the UK.

Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan, leading for Labour, warned against a "Westminster elite solution" in which MPs rather than the public dictated what happened next and highlighted his party's proposal for a constitutional convention in which politicians were the minority and the public had "the loudest voice".

Mr Khan accused David Cameron of chasing Ukip votes with a "blatant tactical manoeuvre" by announcing his EVEL proposals in Downing Street hours after the Scottish referendum result, adding the PM had failed to discuss his ideas on England with the Liberal Democrats or Labour.

But Christchurch Tory MP Christopher Chope stressed there was "no going back" on Mr Cameron's Downing Street vow to the people of England, saying: "How can the PM's pledge on September 19 be delivered without ­constitutional change in Scotland being dependent on change being delivered in the rest of the UK?"

He suggested one way of securing a permanent constitutional settlement for the UK would be to require that no part could become independent without a two-thirds majority in a vote. "Many of us were nervous about changing the UK constitution on a bare majority when even the rules of the local golf club can't be changed without a two-thirds majority," said the backbencher.

The SNP's Pete Wishart lauded the referendum, saying it had almost become a "festival of politics", adding: "It was incredible. I wish we could almost do it again."

The Perth MP said the Scottish people were influenced by the solemn vow on the eve of the vote and that "already what we are hearing is the backtrack".

He insisted the PM, as the "key signatory", should have attended the debate because he needed to "speak to the Scottish people, to look them in the eye and say the vow would be delivered in full without conditions". He said Mr Cameron's absence was a "massive dereliction of duty".

The ex-PM Gordon Brown stressed how the issue of EVEL could be addressed within the Union without restricting the voting rights of Scottish MPs but while simultaneously "meeting the sensitivities of the English".

"There are other ways that we could meet the needs of English MPs without creating two classes of representation in this House, by which time the Union would be all but over," said the Labour MP for Kirkcaldy.

But Hertfordshire Conservative Sir Oliver Heald asked why Mr Brown could vote on education in England but he could note vote on education in Scotland. "It's not right," he said . "When he was PM he consistently ignored this issue, he ignored the voice of England. It has to be addressed."

Closing the six-hour debate, Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said the lack of devolution in England had to be addressed.

But the Liberal Democrat added: "A key problem in doing so is that there is no consensus in England as to what further devolution might look like … I say to our English colleagues, the people of Scotland debated this at length over a period of decades; they now need to do the same."