Ministers should "hold their horses" in trying to solve the issue of English votes for English laws ­following the Scottish ­independence referendum which "solved nothing", former Cabinet minister Ken Clarke has said.

The Tory big beast stressed the need to avoid an English backlash over the promise of "Scottish home rule" which was "almost completely unplanned" when it was made by former prime minister Gordon Brown who was "getting carried away". Joking that "the vow" made by the main party leaders to devolve further tax and spend powers to Scotland was so called because "nobody believes pledges anymore" after Nick Clegg's broken tuition fee promise, Mr Clarke called for a proper parliamentary process to solve the West Lothian question.

Mr Clarke told a fringe event at the Tory Party conference last night: "We could spend the evening, ... talking about the consequences of this referendum which has solved nothing and has plunged us into a most uncertain phase about where we go next on our constitution.

"I'm absolutely convinced that the three party leaders must be supported by their followers in giving full effect to the vow on the Daily Record to actually devolve substantial extra powers.

"It's called a vow because nobody believes pledges anymore. We've got to resist an English backlash...we're trying to hold the union together, not encouraging the other nations to start getting stirred up."

Mr Clarke said the powers must be put in place to the agreed timetable.

He added "I would hold my horses on the rest because there is a whole separate debate to be had about ­devolution within England, there are all kinds of other issues raised about the relationship between England and the three smaller nations and the position of the Welsh, which gets ever more anomalous."